The scene of the tragedy in which 39 people were found dead in a container at Waterglade industrial park in Essex county of the UK on October 23 (Photo: AP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Public Securityhas directed the Social Order-Related Crime Investigating PoliceDepartment to work with the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An to verifyinformation of local residents who reportedly went missing while moving fromFrance to the UK.
The move was madeafter some families in the two provinces reported that they had lost contact oftheir relatives who are working abroad, fearing that the relatives may berelated to the tragedy in which 39 people were found dead in a container atWaterglade industrial park in Essex county of the UK on October 23.
The ministry isalso investigating to confirm if there is any individual or organization illegallytaking Vietnamese citizens abroad.
Earlier, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assigned the ministry to coordinate with the Ministryof Foreign Affairs and the People’s Committees of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and relevantlocalities and agencies to promptly verify the case.
He also requestedthe ministry to detect any cases of illegally sending Vietnamese citizensabroad and apply strict punishments on violation cases.
The PM asked theMinistry of Foreign Affairs to direct the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK to keepa close eye on the case and work with UK authorities in confirm the identity ofthe victims in case there are Vietnamese, while taking necessary citizenprotection measures.
On October 25,the Vietnamese ambassador to the UK had a phone talk with the British Secretary of State for the Home Department, and the embassy’s representativeheld a working session with the police of the UK and Essex country on the case.
On October 26,the ambassador led a delegation from the embassy to the scene and worked withlocal authorities and police.
The embassy andBritish authorised agencies have agreed to work closely together and shareinformation during the investigation process as well as in defining thevictims’ identities. An information exchange channel has been set up betweenthe embassy and Essex police.
As of 13:00 ofOctober 26 (local time), no official information on the victims’ identities hadbeen announced.
Anyone needing assistancerelated to the case can contact the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK via itshotline for assisting overseas Vietnamese at +44 7713 181 501 or Vietnam’scitizen protection hotline at +84 981 84 84 84./.
VNA
