Grays lorry deaths: Romanian man in court over 39 migrant deaths

The Vietnamese migrants travelled by ferry from Belgium to Purfleet, before the trailer was opened in Grays

A Romanian man has appeared in court facing manslaughter charges after the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found suffocated in a sealed lorry trailer.

The victims, including 10 teenagers, were discovered in Essex in 2019.

Marius Mihai Draghici is charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

The 49-year-old declined to enter pleas at the Old Bailey in London and said: "I don't want to do it today."

The bodies of the 39 people were found in Grays on 23 October 2019, after the lorry had travelled by boat from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet on the Thames estuary.

A provisional date for a four-week trial before a High Court judge was scheduled for 6 November.

Caolan Gormley, 25, from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, who has already pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to assist illegal immigration, is due to stand trial on the same date.

Mr Draghici is in custody and Mr Gormley remains on conditional bail.