Lorry deaths: why spend thousands to reach the UK?

Last week 39 people suffocated to death in the back of a lorry in Essex. It was a reminder of a similar case that happened 19 years ago when 58 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry in Dover. In fact, the police originally thought that the group in that lorry in Grays last week were from China, until it emerged that they were probably from Vietnam. Police are there now taking DNA samples from families to identify the victims. We know that many Vietnamese people try to get to Britain and are here working to send money back home. We also now know that some pay up to £30,000 to traffickers to get to the UK. The BBC’s South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head has been in Vietnam this past week trying to figure out why. Presented by Tina Daheley Producer: Philly Beaumont Mixed by Tom Burchell Editor: John Shields.

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Beyond Today is the daily podcast from Radio 4 that asks one big question about one big story in the news - and beyond. Tina Daheley, Matthew Price, and a team of curious producers search for answers that change the way we see the world. They speak to the BBC’s unrivalled global network of reporters, plus occasional special guests, to tell stories about identity, technology, and power - where it lies and how that is changing.