Vietnam receives remains of 39 trafficking victims

The bodies were found Oct. 23 in the English town of Grays, east of London. Police said the victims were aged between 15 and 44. While no cause of death has been officially established.

Do Thanh: The last remains of the 39 Vietnamese who died while being smuggled in a truck to England last month were repatriated to their home country on Saturday.

The bodies were found Oct. 23 in the English town of Grays, east of London. Police said the victims were aged between 15 and 44. While no cause of death has been officially established.

The 31 men and eight women are believed to have paid human traffickers for their clandestine transit into England. Several suspects have been arrested in the U.K. and Vietnam.

Shortly after noon on Saturday, the body of one victim, 19-year-old Bui Thi Nhung, arrived at the Phu Tang church in the village of Do Thanh.

Relatives of Bui Thi Nhung weep as they gather around Nhung's casket at the family home on Saturday in the village of Do Thanh, Vietnam.

More than 100 Catholic villagers and family members waited for the body’s arrival at a highway leading to the village. They held white flowers, standing by the side of the road as the ambulance carrying the body passed.

Airport workers load a coffin into the back of an ambulance at the Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday.

After 15 minutes at the church, the mourners moved to Nhung’s home nearby. One of Nhung’s nieces held her portrait to lead the procession.

The sisters of Bui Thi Nhung weep as they walk behind the ambulance that carries Nhung's casket on Saturday in the village of Do Thanh, Vietnam.

Nhung’s coffin was placed in the middle of the living room of the one-story house with the family weeping by the sides. Relatives and neighbors came into the home to place incense.

Relatives of Bui Thi Nhung weep as they gather around Nhung's casket at the family home on Saturday in the village of Do Thanh, Vietnam.

A funeral will be held for Nhung at her home on Sunday followed by a ceremony at the church before the burial.

An initial batch of 16 bodies were handed over to their families on Wednesday, and funerals were held the following day.

Airport personnel line up a row of coffins on the tarmac of the Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday.

The impoverished villages the victims hailed from have largely been left out of the economic development that has turned urban centers in Vietnam such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi into boomtowns sending many on a risky journey looking for a better life abroad.