First remains of Essex lorry victims arrive in Hanoi

A plane carrying the first remains of 39 victims found dead in a lorry in Britain last month landed in Hanoi in the early morning on Wednesday.
 Sixteen bodies of the Essex lorry victims arrive at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, on a Vietnam Airlines flight on Wednesday morning. (Photo: VNA/VNS)
Sixteen bodies of the Essex lorry victims arrive at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, on a Vietnam Airlines flight on Wednesday morning. (Photo: VNA/VNS)
Sixteen bodies arrived at Noi Bai International Airport on a Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi, where they were received by officials of their hometowns. Each victim was then transported on an ambulance back to their homes where family members were preparing for their funerals.
The first victims to arrive in Vietnam on Wednesday came from three central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. The ambulances carrying the victims were expected to reach their hometowns later on the same day.
The other 23 bodies will be repatriated in the coming days in separate groups, though officials are yet to confirm the dates publicly.
British police on October 23 discovered the bodies of 31 men and 8 women in the trailer of an articulated refrigerator lorry in Grays, Essex, northeast of London.
The alledged illegal migrants were confirmed as Vietnamese nationals on November 8, among whom 21 came from Nghe An. Another 10 were from Ha Tinh, 3 each from Hai Phong and Quang Binh while Thua Thien-Hue and Hai Duong each had one victim.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the costs for cremation and delivering ashes to Vietnam is estimated at 1,370 pounds (US$1,761) while a body repatriation is quoted at 2,208 pounds ($2,838).
The Vietnamese Government pay in advance to help bring the victims home. Their families will later return the money to the local municipalities, said the deputy foreign affairs minister Bui Thanh Son.
First remains of Essex lorry victims arrive in Hanoi ảnh 1  Sixteen bodies of the Essex lorry victims arrive at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, on a Vietnam Airlines flight on Wednesday morning. (Photo: VNA/VNS)
First remains of Essex lorry victims arrive in Hanoi ảnh 2 Airport personnel transfer the coffins from the plane to the ambulances waiting to take the victims to their hometowns. 
First remains of Essex lorry victims arrive in Hanoi ảnh 3 Airport personnel transfer the coffins from the plane to the ambulances waiting to take the victims to their hometowns. 

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