The Essex refrigerated lorry (Source: AFP/VNA)London (VNA) – A British truck driver whodiscovered 39 dead Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated lorry waited about 23minutes before notifying police, a court was told on October 27.
Maurice Robinson, 26, had collected the sealed containerfrom the southeast English port of Purfleet after it had arrived on a cargoship from Zeebrugge in Belgium, and opened its doors shortly afterwards innearby Thurrock in the early hours of October 23 last year.
Inside he found the bodies of the migrants who hadsuffocated to death after being trapped in the dark inside for at least 12hours, in unbearably high temperatures.
However, instead of immediately calling police, Robinson made several phonecalls to others accused of roles in the people-trafficking scheme, a prosecutortold London’s Old Bailey court.
He also drove the truck in a loop around the surroundingindustrial area, taking 23 minutes before alerting officers, jurors in thetrial of four men charged with involvement heard.
Robinson has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 39migrants and to conspiring in people-smuggling.
Meanwhile, Eamonn Harrison, 23, who is said to have driventhe truck to Zeebrugge, and Georghe Nica, 43, both deny 39 counts ofmanslaughter.
Harrison, Valentin Calota, 37, and Christopher Kennedy, 24,have pleaded not guilty to being part of a people-smuggling conspiracy. ButNica has pleaded guilty to that charge.
The trial, which began earlier this month, is expected tolast up to six weeks.
Prosecutors have previously outlined that haulage companyboss Ronan Hughes instructed Robinson via a Snapchat message to "give themair quickly but don’t let them out" once he picked up the container inPurfleet.
Hughes has also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and toconspiring in people-smuggling.
Jurors heard new written testimony that a cargo operator atPurfleet smelt a "decomposing smell" as he unloaded the trailer ataround midnight - an hour before Robinson opened it.
On October 23 last year, bodies of 39 Vietnamese were discovered in theback of a refrigerated lorry at an industrial estate in Grays in Essex, nearLondon.
Autopsies concluded that the provisional cause ofdeath of the victims was a combination of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, andhyperthermia, or overheating, in an enclosed space./.
VNA
