During the cross-Channel trip on board the Clementine, the group had desperately tried to raise the alarm, even calling the Vietnamese emergency number, as they ran out of air.
When they found there was no mobile phone signal in the trailer, some recorded goodbye messages to their families.
Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, told his family: I am sorry. I cannot take care of you. I am sorry. I am sorry. I cannot breathe. I want to come back to my family. Have a good life.
A metal pole had been used to try to punch through the roof of the refrigerated container, but only managed to dent the interior.
By Press Association 2021
Priti Patel Tweet on ruthless criminals
The Home Secretary caused a legal storm with an “ill-advised” tweet about the deaths of 39 migrants while the people-smuggling trial was going on.
On October 23, the anniversary of the tragedy, Priti Patel’s Twitter account posted: “One year ago today, 39 people lost their lives in horrific circumstances at the hands of ruthless criminals.
“My thoughts remain with everyone who was affected by that day, particularly the loved ones of the people who so tragically died.”
The comments were made as the prosecution of four alleged people-smugglers linked to the deaths was continuing at the Old Bailey.
Gang used burner pay-as-you-go phones and evaded automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras
Ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, and driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter
In May 9 2018, Harrison was issued with civil penalty notice after he was caught with 18 Vietnamese migrants
Total of eight men now convicted in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children
In October last year, 39 Vietnamese migrants suffocated to death inside a lorry trailer in Thurrock, Essex
By Press Association 2021
Victims found in the back of a trailer
An “unscrupulous” gang of people-smugglers are facing years behind bars for their part in the deaths of 39 migrants.
The Vietnamese victims, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in the back of a trailer as they were shipped to Purfleet in Essex from Belgium on October 23 last year.
With false promises of a better life in Britain, they were betrayed by greedy criminals who pursued profits of more than £1 million that month alone.
On Monday, Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter.