China urges UK to quickly identify smuggling victims

A woman wearing a white headband, traditionally worn by relatives of a deceased person during the funeral in Vietnam to show sign of mourning, attends a Sunday Mass at Phu Tang church in Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province, Vietnam Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. The attendees pray for the victims of the U.K truck deaths in which local villagers are feared to be among the ill-fated migrants. China says it hopes the U.K. can quickly identify the 39 people who were found dead in the back of a sealed truck in southeastern England.

Police initially believed the victims were Chinese, but dozens of Vietnamese families have since reported missing relatives whom they suspect to be among the dead. China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong called on the international community Monday to work together against illegal immigration.

Chen said the case “needs to be jointly dealt with and properly resolved by all parties concerned so that we can prevent a tragedy like this from repeating in the future.”British authorities charged the 25-year-old truck driver with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. He is expected in court on Monday.