Northern Ireland lorry driver travels to Vietnam to meet families of migrants who died in Essex

The photo collage of the faces of the 39 migrants is as haunting now as it was more than two years ago. For each face is that of a loved one - a father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister - who were travelling to the UK in search of a better life.

But instead they suffered "excruciating deaths," suffocating in a container en route from Belgium to Essex in October 2019.

A lorry driver from County Tyrone has now traveled to Vietnam to meet some of the families of those who died.

John Hurson says it was to try and humanise the tragedy. "To find out where did they come from? What was the area they were from like? Why did they make the journey? What family did they leave behind, what were their dreams and aspirations? And I wanted to let them know that the people back in Ireland and the UK, we haven't forgot about them."

Four men, three of them from Northern Ireland, were found guilty of the manslaughter of the 39 people.

"Each house had a mourning altar. We lit incense. We bowed and had a moment of reflection and yeah, the pain for them is still there. It was very emotional. I kept strong throughout the visits, but when I got back to my hotel room afterwards, it took me a while to recover."

John, who says his entire experience in Vietnam has left him "totally and utterly humbled," left each of the families he met - a special gift.

I brought them all a gift of a little cross from the area representing Donaghmore and Ardboe in Tyrone. And the little crosses now sit proudly upon they're mourning altars. I had a flag with me as well, a Tyrone to Vietnam flag."

And John hopes the visit will have helped with their healing. "Making that visit really meant a lot to me, brought a lot of comfort to them. Hopefully, they will take some comfort knowing that the people on the other side of the world are thinking about them. It's not going to ease anything, but hopefully it'll bring some comfort."

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