UK Ambassador in Viet Nam Gareth Ward released a statement on Monday on the deaths of 39 people in Essex. 

UK Ambassador in Viet Nam Gareth Ward

 In his statement, the diplomat said he met with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security to discuss the recent tragedy in the UK, where 39 individuals were found dead in Essex.

“At this time, we have not received confirmation as to who these people are, and where they are from. But whatever nationality they have, our hearts go out to their families and friends”, the statement reads.

“We know that there is a lot of concern amongst Vietnamese communities in the UK and in Viet Nam about this tragedy. I discussed with the Ministry of Public Security how we would work closely together during the process of victim identification.

As the UK police have explained to my colleague-the Vietnamese Ambassador in London, this identification process will take time to ensure the identity of the victims, to guarantee forensic accuracy, and to secure information for the ongoing investigation.

The UK and Viet Nam are friends and partners. We will work together to raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking, to prosecute the criminals who facilitate it, and to protect vulnerable people,” according to the statement.

Earlier the same day, Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son told reporters that the UK side has sent four sets of dossiers related to the Essex lorry deaths to the Ministry of Public Security to ask for verification coordination.

Son also stressed that until now there have been no grounds to confirm Vietnamese nationals are among the victims./.