A Vietnamese man said he fears his sister is among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain this week, as police scrambled to identify the victims.
British police have said all 39 people found in the refrigerated trailer early Wednesday are believed to be Chinese nationals.
But the brother of 26-year-old Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My said he thinks his sister was among the group.
"We received information that My was among the 39 victims," Pham Manh Cuong told AFP on Friday from central Vietnam.
My left Vietnam on October 3 en route to the United Kingdom.
Cuong said their mother received a text message from My on Wednesday at 4:28 am Vietnam time (2128 Tuesday GMT).
"I'm sorry Mom. My path to abroad doesn't succeed. Mom, I love you so much! I'm dying bcoz I can't breath," she said in the message shared by the Vietnam-based Human Rights Space.
Her brother confirmed to AFP the text massage was authentic.
A Vietnamese security source told AFP Friday: "There is a possibility there might be Vietnamese among the victims".
"We are working very closely with relevant agencies both in Vietnam and especially in the UK," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United Kingdom is a popular destination for Vietnamese migrants, who are trafficked illegally or smuggled voluntarily, often across eastern Europe.
Many end up working illegally on underground cannabis farms or in nail bars in the hopes earning fast cash.
My came from central Ha Tinh, an impoverished coastal province devastated by a massive fish kill in 2016 that ruined livelihoods.
Trafficking expert Mimi Vu says there has been an uptick in illegal migration from the area since the disaster, though central Vietnam has long been a source of smuggling victims pushed out by poverty.
Vu said many migrants often pass though China en route to Britain, usually carrying falsified Chinese passports.
"It would be difficult for UK police to visually" identify the victims, especially if the bodies were in bad shape, Vietnam-based Vu said.
UK police arrested a 25-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland at the scene after the parked truck was discovered in an industrial zone in Grays, Essex, east of London.
Two others -- a man and a woman aged 38 -- have also been arrested "on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter", Essex police said.
The first autopsies were to take place Friday as investigators attempt to establish how they died before the work begins on trying to identify the victims.
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