Lorry deaths: why spend thousands to reach the UK?

Beyond Today

BBC

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2019

⏱️ 19 minutes

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Summary

Last week 39 people suffocated to death in the back of a lorry in Essex. It was a reminder of a similar case that happened 19 years ago when 58 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry in Dover. In fact, the police originally thought that the group in that lorry in Grays last week were from China, until it emerged that they were probably from Vietnam. Police are there now taking DNA samples from families to identify the victims. We know that many Vietnamese people try to get to Britain and are here working to send money back home. We also now know that some pay up to £30,000 to traffickers to get to the UK. The BBC’s South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head has been in Vietnam this past week trying to figure out why. Presented by Tina Daheley Producer: Philly Beaumont Mixed by Tom Burchell Editor: John Shields.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:05.6	Hello, I'm Tina Dehealey.
0:08.0	Welcome to Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4.
0:11.0	Every day we ask one big question about one big story.
0:17.0	Today, why would you spend thousands of pounds to get to the UK?
0:27.0	Tonight to 10, a murder investigation is underway after the bodies of 39 people are
0:38.0	discovered in a lorry container in Essex. It was only last week that this awful discovery was made, shocking not only for the police.
0:48.3	This is an absolute tragedy and very sad day for Essex Police and the local community.
0:55.0	It was a reminder of a similar case that happened 19 years ago
1:00.0	when 58 Chinese nationals were found suffocated to death in the back of a
1:05.0	lorry in Dover, they'd been smuggled into the country. In fact the police
1:10.6	originally thought that the group of people found in Gray's last week
1:14.4	were from China until it emerged that they were probably from Vietnam.
1:20.0	Police are there now taking DNA samples from families to identify the victims.
1:25.8	We know that many Vietnamese people try to get to Britain and are here working to send money
1:31.5	back home. We also now know that some pay up to 30,000 pounds
1:37.2	to traffickers to get them into the UK.
1:40.3	Hi there. The BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head has been in Vietnam
1:46.5	this past week trying to figure out why. We've relocated back to Hanoy because
1:52.4	we've been officially banned from doing any
1:54.4	journalism down in, well banned from doing it anywhere in Vietnam until they give
1:59.3	us accreditation and we've no idea when that's going to be. He's been to Yantan where it's thought most of the victims came from.
	...

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