The Vietnamese government has confirmed that the remains of victims of a total of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry in Europe have been returned to Vietnam earlier today.
The 23 of them were received at the Hanoi airport before being transported to the Vietnamese provinces to be reunited with their families.
The return of those who died gives the victims’ families the opportunity to hold funerals, carry out burial rituals and finally mourn.
The first arrival of 16 bodies came on Wednesday and saw representatives of some of the families travel to the airport to see the coffins, many of whom brought white roses and wept.
The Vietnamese government has offered to pay the repatriation costs upfront but will give relatives 30 days to pay the money back with no interest.
The relatives were offered two choices: either the family has to pay almost 1,800 dollars to receive their loved ones cremated as ashes or over 2,800 dollars for the body to be sent to Hanoi airport.
Some of the remains were cremated, as seen in photos of the airport arrivals.
The long delay and confusion over costs of repatriation have caused extra grief for families desperate to bring their loved ones home.
The news led to philanthropic responses from both concerned individuals and companies.
A page on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe has raised 30,000 dollars, while Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate, has pledged to donate 800 dollars to each victim’s family in Nghe An and Ha Tinh.
