The Chinese Foreign Ministry asked Britain to verify the victims' identities soon and severely punish the culprits that left 39 people dead in containers.

"We hope that the UK will soon be able to verify the victims' identities, identify what happened and severely punish criminals involved in the case," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesman. Quoc Hoa Xuan Oanh said at a regular news conference on October 25, according to Reuters.

Essex County Police, east of London, reported on October 24 that all the victims including 31 men and 8 women died in containers believed to be from China. However, authorities now believe that the victims may be of a different nationality.

The Chinese embassy in London sent staff to Essex to verify the situation, but the victims' nationality could not be determined. China's Global Times reported that Britain was responsible for the deaths of 39 people.

Driver Mo Robinson, 25, dawned on October 23 to report to British authorities after finding 39 bodies inside the container behind his tractor parked in an industrial park in Essex, east London. The container was shipped to England by sea from the Belgian town of Zeebrugge the day before.

In addition to Robinson, British police arrested three suspects, the Thomas couple - Joanna Maher and a 48-year-old man in Northern Ireland. Bulgarian television reported that the Maher couple owned the Scania tractor that Robinson controlled. However, the two told reporters they sold it 13 months ago to a company in Monaghan County, near where Robinson lives.

Vietnamese citizen Pham Van Thin sent an application to the People's Committee of Nghen, Can Loc and Ha Tinh towns on October 25, saying that Pham Thi Tra My's daughter was "one of 39 victims in a container truck". Family members said that before losing contact, Tra My sent a message to mother with the content "I die because I cannot breathe".