Vietnam receives 16 of 39 bodies found in UK truck

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Sixteen bodies of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a truck in the U.K. last month have reached Vietnam on Wednesday, local media said.

The bodies of the alleged illegal migrants were found in a truck in an industrial park in Thurrock, west England on Oct. 23.

According to daily Viet Nam News, a Vietnam Airlines plane brought to the capital Hanoi remains of 16 victims.

Vietnamese officials received the dead bodies that were later transported to their respective hometowns in ambulances for proper funerals.

The report said that the remaining 23 bodies will be repatriated in the coming days in different groups.

Several people -- including Maurice Robinson, 39, the driver of the truck -- have been arrested and charged in connection to the incident.

Robinson, from Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

Police in the U.K. and Vietnam continue to investigate the dramatic incident.