Essex lorry deaths: Teenage victim had escaped Dutch asylum centre

Development comes as police arrest fifth man - a 23-year-old from Northern Ireland - in connection with horror incident

The container lorry where 39 people were found dead inside leaves Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex, heading towards Tilbury Docks under police escort (PA)

One of the teenagers who was among 39 people found dead in a lorry in Essex had gone missing from an asylum centre in the Netherlands, it has emerged.

Ten minors were among the Vietnamese victims discovered in the refrigerated trailer in an industrial park in the town of Grays last month.

The Dutch government confirmed on Friday that one of the youngsters had been at one of its centres.

But the country’s Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers refused to provide any further details including the name or age of the teenager.

The 39 bodies were found on 23 October at Waterglade Industrial Estate in a container which had been shipped to nearby Purfleet from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Five people have so far been arrested in the UK and eight in Vietnam in connection with the deaths, including lorry driver Maurice Robinson, who has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter.

The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland, is now set to appear at the Old Bailey in London on Monday.

In further developments this week, a 23-year-old, also from Northern Ireland, was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning in connection with the deaths after being detained while travelling on on the M40, near Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.

Earlier this month the names of all 39 Vietnamese nationals – 31 males and eight females – were released by police. They included two 15-year-old boys.

Pham Thi Tra My, 26, was also among them. Her family received a final text message from her while inside the lorry.

"I am really, really sorry, Mum and Dad, my trip to a foreign land has failed," it read. "I am dying, I can't breathe. I love you very much Mum and Dad. I am sorry."