Truck Driver Charged With 39 Counts of Manslaughter

British police are still struggling to identify the victims in apparent trafficking case
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 26, 2019 11:45 AM CDT
39 Manslaughter Counts Filed in British Truck Case
In this Oct. 23, 2019, file photo, police forensic officers attend the scene after a truck was found to contain a large number of dead bodies in Thurrock, South England.   (UK Pool via AP, File)

UK police have charged a truck driver with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people in connection with 39 deaths in the back of the truck he was driving in southeastern England, the AP reports. Police say Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, Northern Ireland is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Monday. He was the first of those arrested to be charged in what is seen as one of the UK's biggest cases of people smuggling. Five others have been arrested in the case. UK police are struggling to identify the victims, who are believed to have come from Asia, and autopsies are being performed. The Vietnamese Embassy in London has set up a hotline for families to call about missing family members. (More human trafficking stories.)

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