UK police claims 39 people found dead in Essex lorry were all Chinese

The Chinese foreign ministry has confirmed the report, according to the local media.

Police have been granted an extra 24 hours to question lorry driver Mo Robinson, 25, on suspicion of murdering the eight women and 31 men.

Three properties in Northern Ireland have been raided and the National Crime Agency is working to establish if "organised crime groups" were involved.

The trailer arrived in Purfleet on the River Thames from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Ambulance staff discovered the bodies in the container at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays just after 01:30 BST on Wednesday.

The lorry and trailer left the port at Purfleet shortly after 01:05.

Police said the tractor unit - the front part of the lorry - entered the country via Holyhead in Wales on Sunday, having travelled from Dublin.

Speaking after a magistrate granted Essex Police more time to question Mr Robinson on Thursday, Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said her priority was "preserving the dignity of the 39 people who have died and ensuring that we get answers for their loved ones".

The lorry has been moved to a secure site at Tilbury Docks and police are due to begin the process of moving the bodies to a mortuary at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

They will be taken by private ambulance so that post-mortem examinations can take place, with the force expecting all the bodies to have been moved by the weekend.

Essex Police said it was the largest murder investigation in the force's history and the victims were all "believed to be Chinese nationals".

It said formal identification of the 39 people, one of whom is a young adult woman, "could be a lengthy process".