'Time stood still': remembering Grays lorry deaths

Ch Supt Stuart Hooper was in charge of the largest investigation in Essex Police's history.

Police officers and staff who worked on the case of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry in Grays are still receiving professional support, five years on from the tragedy.

The bodies of the Vietnamese nationals, aged between 15 and 44, were discovered in an airtight container in October 2019.

They had paid up to £13,000 to smugglers for a supposedly “VIP” route to Europe but died after experiencing sweltering temperatures between Zeebrugge and Purfleet.

Eleven people have been jailed in the UK for their part in the conspiracy for a combined total of 117 years.

'Harrowing'

The discovery of the bodies prompted the largest investigation in the history of Essex Police, called Operation Melrose.

Ch Supt Stuart Hooper, who led the operation, said the call he received on the morning of 23 October 2019 was “one of those harrowing phone calls in your career that you hope you never have to take”.

The 39 Vietnamese nationals were aged between 15 and 44 years old

“It felt like time stood still, looking in that lorry and seeing those 39 people, taking in the magnitude and enormity of what we were confronted with,” Ch Supt Hooper told the BBC.

“The responding officers were the heroes for me,” he added.

“There was very little room to step between the bodies, and they’ve gone from the front of the lorry to the back, checking everyone to see if they were alive.”

Support for staff

Ch Supt Hooper said officers and staff had continued to receive professional support since the tragedy, which was still ongoing.

“Everyone is different and processes it in a different way, but, yes, that support is always in place.

“This touched thousands of officers, police staff, volunteers and hundreds of detectives that were involved in this, and as a group of individuals, we’ll reach out to each other as well.

Eleven people have been jailed in the UK for their part in the people smuggling conspiracy

The victims tried to break out of the roof of the trailer as they ran out of oxygen.

Ch Supt Hooper says that since the tragedy, the force has worked with the haulage industry to change the design of lorries and containers to prevent a repeat.

“Some of it is about making sure there are air vents so people can get air if they’re inside, through to detection devices to alert if people are in it, so the industry has really stepped forward and helped us with that,” he told the BBC.

A remembrance event will be held on Sunday 27 October at West Thurrock Memorial Ground, where there is a memorial and 39 specially planted trees dedicated to those who lost their lives.