Chilling final words of Vietnamese woman who died while being smuggled inside 'death truck': 'I'm dying because I can't breathe'
A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman's text messages sent to her mother, presumably just moments before she suffocated to death in the truck she was being smuggled into the UK has now come to light.
The latest developments emerged after the bodies of 39 people were found in a refrigerator truck in England, and has now shed light on the harrowing circumstances the individuals underwent in their quest to come to the UK, seeking a better life.
The Vietnamese woman, called Pham Thi Tra My, wrote in a series of frantic messages to her mother that her journey was unsuccessful, adding how sorry she was about the turn of events, reportedly.
"I'm sorry Mom, my path to abroad didn't succeed, "read Tra My's series of messages sent around 10.30 pm on Tuesday, October 22, according to the Mirror.
She added: "Mom, I love you and Dad so much! I'm dying because I can't breathe."
The news about Tra My's final moments arrived in the wake of two more people getting arrested after eight women and 31 men were found dead on Wednesday, October 23.
The case that has visibly shocked Britain has also made headlines around the world. The two people recently arrested for the mysterious deaths are a man and a woman, both 38 and from Warrington in northwest England.
They were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people, revealed the Essex police according to New York Post. The truck driver, 25-year-old Mo Robinson, had been arrested earlier on suspicion of murder, the outlet added.
While the victims in the refrigerator truck were all believed to be Chinese citizens, the matter is being reconsidered. CNN reported that the Vietnamese Embassy in London has also been in contact with Essex police after reports of Vietnamese nationals among the victims surfaced.
After not hearing from Tra My following her series of final messages, her desperate family sought the help of a human rights activist to help them find out information on their daughter.
"My's family has asked for help. The person told me there were six other people asking for similar assistance to find out whereabouts of their relatives," Hoa Nghiem of Human Rights Space in Hanoi shared about Tra My's family on social media.
"We don't know if that would make six cases as we are verifying names. And we don't know if they are in that Essex truck. We hope they are not," she added, including a photo of the then assumed missing Tra My.
According to Tra My's family, she has paid human traffickers a sum equivalent of up to $38,000 just to be smuggled into the UK via China, in hopes of starting afresh to pay off debts her family was under.
Two other people of Vietnamese nationality — a 26-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman — may have also been aboard the death truck in the town of Grays, as their respective families have raised concerns about their missing status.
The British embassy in Hanoi said in a statement: "The nationality of the victims has not been confirmed at this stage. The UK authorities are working as fast as possible to identify the victims and inform their families."