UK police believes truck death victims were Vietnamese

British police said on Friday they now believe all 39 people found dead in the back of a truck in Essex near London last week were Vietnamese.

"At this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese government," Essex police Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said on Twitter.

"We are in direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK, and we believe we have identified families for some of the victims," he added.