Daily Mail readers’ responses to 39 people who died in lorry is shocking

The discovery of 39 bodies inside a refrigerated lorry trailer in Essex is the UK’s worst such tragedy in almost 20 years.

Detectives investigating the deaths of 39 people found in the back of a lorry in Essex have been given an extra 24 hours to question the driver.

A 25-year-old man, named locally as Mo Robinson, from Northern Ireland was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

Officers were granted a warrant to hold him for more time by magistrates in Basildon, an Essex Police spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Lengthy and complex

Earlier it was confirmed that the eight women and 31 men found in the vehicle on an industrial estate in Grays were all Chinese.

Essex Police Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said: “This is an incredibly sensitive and high-profile investigation, and we are working swiftly to gather as full a picture as possible as to how these people lost their lives.

“Our recovery of the bodies is ongoing and the post-mortem and identification processes, which will be lengthy and complex, can then begin.”

Daily Mail responds

Despite an overwhelming response of sympathy from the British public, not all reactions have been so kind.

These responses were highlighted by @DMReporter on Twitter.

Readers of a sensitive disposition should look away now.

Ollie McAninch

Ollie McAninch is a former public and private sector economist turned digital media pioneer. After working in the media for over a decade, he helped develop The London Economic to promote independent investigative journalism. When he isn't contributing articles, Ollie spends the bulk of his time looking after animals, pressing apples and planting trees.