They climbed aboard the lorry jostling and pushing, its four stark walls a tight fit for the nearly 40 souls who crammed inside.

Each hoped that the journey would bring them to a better life, a new future of prosperity which could only be found in the rich west.

Yet the trip would end only with their deaths in an anonymous car park in southern England, the red and white Scania Super truck’s container transforming into a tomb of horror for those trapped inside.

But somewhere each one is missed by families and friends who may have no idea of the cruel fate which has befallen their loved ones.

Now the grim task begins for the authorities to try to identify each of the 39 people – 38 adults and a teenager – whose bodies were recovered from the back of the refrigerated lorry discovered in an industrial park in Essex yesterday morning. Few are likely to have documents proving their identities, and their illegal entry to the UK is shrouded by the mists of criminality.

The police investigation now under way will try to probe those links, and uncover the smuggling gangmasters most likely to be responsible.
But for now all officers can go on is where their journey began, and the odd, roundabout way in which it reached the south of England.

Originally, Essex police reported that the lorry had travelled into the country through Holyhead on Saturday.

But in a subsequent update, the force said it now believed that the trailer – the rear section of the vehicle – travelled from Zeebrugge into Purfleet, and docked in the Thurrock area shortly after 12:30am yesterday morning. The tractor unit of the lorry – the smaller section at the front of the vehicle – is believed to have originated in Northern Ireland.

Police have said tracking the route of the lorry “will be a key line of inquiry” amid concerns it may have made its way to the British mainland unchecked by avoiding the ports of Calais and Dover, which have more stringent monitoring of people smuggling.

Officers have set up a casualty bureau for anyone to call if they have concerns about relatives who may be involved.

Jim Laird, Human Trafficking Lead at Inverclyde Health and Social Care Partnership, said it will take a long time to establish who the individuals were, or even where they came from.

He said: “The problem is they have made a long journey across Europe to get to France before even trying to get into the UK.

“While the lorry came from Bulgaria, there is no certainty they are Bulgarian – they could have come from many places or even the migrant camps in France and then paid a people smuggler to get across the channel.

“Where the lorry comes from originally doesn’t tell us much as there are a lot of migration routes across Europe and Bulgaria is just part of that.

“And they will have probably not been carrying any documentation as the people smugglers usually tell them to get rid of it before they begin their journey.”

Mr Laird explained that arriving in the UK without documents is standard practice for asylum seekers and illegal migrants as it can help slow down the repatriation process if they are caught.

He added: “If they arrive with documentation it is much easier to establish if they have a case to remain or deserve asylum. But without it they can claim to be from another country where it is not safe for them to return to.”

The people in the lorry were likely preyed on by smuggling gangs offering hope of a better life in the UK. Mr Laird said they employed one of the oldest tricks in the book – selling a dream.

He said: “There are economic problems across Eastern Europe and beyond and the smugglers will roll up into rural towns and villages wearing expensive clothes and driving top-end cars and SUVs.

“They tell people that they got these things working legitimately in the west and that they can have them too if they just make the leap.

“The chance for a better life is a very potent message. We’ve come across people with degrees and mayors of small towns who have paid smuggling gangs to come here. These are well-educated people making a deliberate choice. It’s not just those with nothing to lose.”