Majority of 39 UK truck victims likely from Vietnam - priest

A police officer moves the tape inside the cordon, at the scene where bodies were discovered in a lorry container, in Grays, Essex, Britain October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

YEN THANH, Vietnam (Reuters) - The majority of the 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London were likely from Vietnam, a community leader from the rural, rice-growing community where many of the victims are believed to have come from told Reuters on Saturday.

The discovery of the bodies - 38 adults and one teenager - was made on Wednesday after emergency services were alerted to people in a truck container on an industrial site in Grays, about 32km (20 miles) east of central London.