Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Last messages of Vietnamese migrants: "I am sorry, I cannot take care of you, I cannot breathe."

UK trial on Friday(9) heard last desperate messages of Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in the container in Essex, southeast England, last October 23 after it had been transported on a cargo ship from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

"I am sorry. I cannot take care of you. I cannot breathe." British jurors  heard heartrending phone messages left by the migrants who suffocated to death in a sealed truck container.


The trial began on Wednesday(7) and is expected to last up to six weeks.

The prosecutor at the trial of four men said the 39 migrants -- including two boys aged 15 -- may have died because "greedy" people-smugglers attempted to carry out two lorryloads in one, after a previous one was intercepted by authorities.

The container had docked in the port of Purfleet just after midnight, and the Vietnamese passengers had been sealed inside in the dark for at least 12 hours, in unbearably high temperatures.

A forensic expert calculated it would have taken about nine hours for the air to turn toxic in the trailer, with death coming soon after.

Prosecutors have said the trapped Vietnamese were unable to get a phone signal inside the container, whose cooling system was turned off.

Around 7pm, about five hours before the truck reached Purfleet, Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, tried and failed to call the Vietnamese emergency line of 133.

At 7:37 pm, Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, recorded a message in Vietnamese for his wife and children.

"It's Tuan. I am sorry. I cannot take care of you. I am sorry. I am sorry. I cannot breathe," he said. "I want to come back to my family. Have a good life."

In another video message at 8:02 pm, a different voice could be heard saying: "I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I'm sorry. I have to go now." In a second message, the same voice added: "It's all my fault."

'Give them air quickly'

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said that haulage company boss Ronan Hughes had, via a Snapchat message, instructed lorry driver Maurice Robinson to "give them air quickly but don't let them out" once he picked up the container in Purfleet.

Security camera footage showed Robinson park the lorry after leaving the port, walk to the rear and open the door slightly.

He took a step back and stood for 90 seconds before walking slowly back to his cab, the jurors heard. First he called Hughes, then the UK emergency line 999 to report the deaths.

Robinson and Hughes have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to conspiring in people-smuggling.

Eamonn Harrison, 23, who is said to have driven the lorry to Zeebrugge, and Georghe Nica, 43, both deny 39 counts of manslaughter.

Harrison, Valentin Calota, 37, and Christopher Kennedy, 24, have pleaded not guilty to being part of a people-smuggling conspiracy. But Nica has admitted the charge.

More For You

Nepal army hunts prisoners after mass jailbreaks in violent protests

Sabin Tamang, 20, who works in a restaurant and participated in a Gen-Z protest, holds up a shovel while posing for a photograph next to graffiti as he takes part in a cleaning campaign following Monday's deadly anti-corruption protests in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Nepal army hunts prisoners after mass jailbreaks in violent protests

NEPAL is facing its worst political and social crisis in decades after deadly protests toppled prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli earlier this week, leaving parliament in flames, thousands of prisoners on the run and the country’s leadership in limbo.

The protests, led largely by young people and dubbed the “Gen Z” movement, erupted after a controversial social media ban and quickly spread across the country. Demonstrators accused the government of corruption, lack of opportunities and failure to deliver reforms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Radhakrishnan

Modi’s ruling coalition nominated Radhakrishnan, 68, who is the governor of the western state of Maharashtra, as its candidate for the post.

X/@narendramodi

India elects BJP’s CP Radhakrishnan as vice president

INDIAN lawmakers elected CP Radhakrishnan, a former parliamentarian from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the country’s new vice president on Tuesday. The election comes more than a month after the previous vice president resigned.

Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose term was to end in 2027, stepped down in July, citing health reasons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Peter Mandelson

Mandelson, 71, a veteran Labour politician and key figure in the party under former leader Tony Blair, had come under scrutiny after letters and emails to Epstein were published. (Photo: Getty Images)

Peter Mandelson removed as UK ambassador to US over Epstein links

PETER MANDELSON, the UK's ambassador to the United States, has been sacked over revelations about his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the government said.

"The Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador," a foreign ministry statement said, adding that new messages showed "the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein".

Keep ReadingShow less
High-stakes India–EU trade talks in New Delhi aim to break deadlock

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen with Narendra Modi during a meeting in New Delhi in February

High-stakes India–EU trade talks in New Delhi aim to break deadlock

INDIA and the European Union are holding potentially decisive trade negotiations in New Delhi this week, seeking to resolve differences over agriculture, dairy and non-tariff barriers to meet an ambitious end of year deadline for a deal, Indian government and EU sources said.

New Delhi is seeking to deepen global partnerships after US president Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent last month over India’s Russian oil purchases, hitting exports such as textiles, leather and chemicals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charlie Kirk

Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, building it into the largest conservative youth organisation in the country. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot dead: The key details

Highlights:

  • Conservative activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot at Utah Valley University
  • Shooter fired from a rooftop in what police called a “targeted attack”
  • Federal, state and local agencies involved in ongoing manhunt
  • Political leaders across parties condemn the killing

A MANHUNT was underway Thursday after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, an attack that has sparked concerns of rising political violence in the United States.

Keep ReadingShow less