Two men have been found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found inside an airtight lorry trailer where the temperature soared to almost 40C.
Alleged ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, in Essex, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 23, from Co Down, Northern Ireland, had denied 39 counts of manslaughter, but were found guilty by jurors on Monday.
The jury, which deliberated for nearly 23 hours, also convicted them of their part in a wider people-smuggling operation with Christopher Kennedy, 24, from Co Armagh, and Valentin Calota, 38, from Birmingham, reports the Mirror.
The migrants - 28 men, eight women and three children aged between 15 and 44 - were found dead as steam poured from the back of the sealed HGV container in Grays, Essex on October 23, 2019.
The victims had suffocated as the sweltering trailer became a "tomb" with the temperature reaching an “unbearable” 38.5C (101F), the Old Bailey was told.
Jurors heard that the victims were sealed inside for at least 12 hours as the container was shipped from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Purfleet.
The prosecution alleged the carbon dioxide inside the trailer had reached its toxic threshold about three hours before the doors were opened.
During their harrowing final moments, some of the trapped migrants tried to batter their way out with a pole while others used their phones to write heartbreaking messages to loved ones.
The court heard that Nguyen Tho Tuan, 28, told his wife, children and mother: “It's Tuan. I am sorry. I cannot take care of you.
“I am sorry. I am sorry. I cannot breathe. I want to come back to my family. Have a good life.”
One of the people in the container was recorded on a mobile phone saying "I cannot breathe".
Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, was also recorded saying: "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
