Lorry death victims’ calls as they struggled for breath

There were calls of “open up, open up” as 39 Vietnamese people struggled to breathe inside a sealed container bound for Britain, a court has heard.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Oct 2020, 15:56 BST
The lorry in which 39 Vietnamese people diedThe lorry in which 39 Vietnamese people died
The lorry in which 39 Vietnamese people died

On October 23 last year, the men, women and children, aged 15 to 44, were found dead in the trailer after it was transported from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in Essex.

The Old Bailey has heard how they suffocated in temperatures of up to 38.5C (101.3F).

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On Tuesday, jurors heard how the trailer was loaded at the port of Zeebrugge at 3pm on October 22 last year. The ship set off at 3.36pm with the container stowed on the weather deck, which was open to the elements with an outside temperature of 14C (57.2F).

At 6.25pm, a young Vietnamese woman took a series of selfies showing the sweltering conditions inside.

Over the next couple of hours, occupants attempted to make phone calls, with one calling the emergency number for Vietnamese police, without success.

In a recorded message to his family, Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, said: “I’m sorry. I cannot take care of you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I cannot breathe. I want to come back to my family. Have a good life.”

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In another mobile phone recording at 8.02pm, Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, said: “I cannot breathe. I’m sorry, I have to go now.” In the background, a voice could be heard saying: “Come on everyone. Open up, open up.”

In another phone recording two minutes later, the same victim said: “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” A voice in the background then says: “He’s dead.”

Eamonn Harrison, 23, of County Down, who had dropped the trailer off at Zeebrugge, has denied 39 counts of manslaughter along with alleged key organiser Gheorghe Nica, 43, of Basildon.

Harrison, lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, of Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, and Valentin Calota, 37, of Birmingham, have denied being part of a wider people smuggling conspiracy, which Nica has admitted to.