The deadly migrant routes from Vietnam to Europe – and why people are willing to take the risk
It’s a bizarre sight. After hours of winding through paddy fields full of farmers toiling in the searing heat, I’ve arrived at what looks like a Disneyland tribute to Rome.
It’s a shock of golden gates and palatial mansions, framed by statement statues and Renaissance pillars. This is Billionaire Village – a place once poor, now crowded with lavish buildings built with money sent back by those who have left to work overseas.
‘Billionaire Village’ in north central Vietnam
Thousands of Vietnamese nationals every year head to Europe in search of this kind of wealth, pursuing legal and illegal routes. More than a thousand crossed the Channel on boats in the first quarter of this year alone, according to government data. That’s almost as many as made the crossing in 2023, and up from 125 people on the same period last year.
Family is at the heart of Vietnamese culture and people will do all they can to support their loved ones. Many pay for legal work visas to countries like Hungary, where there are labour shortages in sectors like manufacturing. But the path from Vietnam to Europe can be costly, murky and even deadly. Unscrupulous agents often charge exorbitant rates, even for official visas, which can lead to heavily indebted migrants being left at the mercy of an international web of people smugglers.
An advert for European travel in Son Thanh
‘They wanted to help make his dream come true’
In 2019, the perilous conditions in which some migrants have travelled were exposed, when 39 Vietnamese people died after suffocating in a container en route from Belgium to Essex. At least three of those who died came from Do Thanh, the rice farming community in north central Vietnam, where I am now. Behind the doors of these grand houses, families still struggle with their grief.
Inside the home of Nguyen Thi Nhung, 60, incense burns in front of a makeshift shrine to mark the recent death of her husband. Five years ago, her son, 32-year-old Le Van Ha, a father of two, was among the victims of the Essex lorry deaths. His wedding picture hangs proudly above the staircase. It was his dream to get to Britain, his mother says, tearfully. His family borrowed a huge sum of money to pay an “agent” to help him, and they’re still paying it off today, his cousin, Le Van Tan, says.
Le Van Ha, 32, died in the 2019 Essex lorry incident
“My family still owes a lot of money,” he says. “It costs 1 billion Vietnamese Dong for him to get into the UK [about £31,000]. When he passed away they had to start paying that back. They just wanted to help him to make his dream come true.”
Le Van Ha’s sister, Le Thi Hoai, is concerned about the number of people leaving this village and risking their lives to get to the UK. “In the countryside, there are hardly any jobs. That’s why they ignore the risks…. They know there are dangers… but they go to change their lives.”
Do Thanh, Nghe An province in north central Vietnam
‘London is ahead – we must keep pushing forward’
So, what’s driving the rise in Vietnamese nationals crossing illegally into the UK? My search for answers started online. I found some migrants openly posting their journeys on Tik Tok. A caption alongside one reads: “London is ahead, so we must keep pushing forward.”
I also found message boards online, where both legitimate agents and what appear to be people smugglers, advertise work opportunities abroad. An advert offering a passage to England via France and Hungary caught my eye. A contact number was listed, alongside a note that applications would be received in Vinh, the region’s capital city, which is now full of houses and shops built from the rewards of migrant work.
Posing as a British expat interested in getting a nanny to the UK, I called the number. A man answered and started detailing how the illegal journey, which he said would cost me about £20,000, would work. He was strikingly unguarded, saying he had got 53 people to the UK last year. The route he was proposing exploits a legal work visa scheme in Hungary but he says nobody would actually work – it’s just a ruse to get into Europe and eventually the UK.
The agent said he got 53 people into the UK last year
I had an address in Vinh, so I headed there and made enquiries. Five minutes after our first phone call, he arrived at the small stall where I was sitting. He showed me pictures on his phone of 20 Vietnamese people camped in a forest, who he claimed to have helped reach Britain.
The journey from Vietnam to England, he said, would take about seven to ten days. After spending a few days in Hungary, his customers are picked up and taken to France on a bus or train. From there, a “canoe” transports them to the UK. Beyond that, he wouldn’t tell me which other countries they cross through or how they travel. When I asked him how big the canoe is and expressed fears about peoples’ safety, he was dismissive.
“It used to be dangerous, but now it’s safe,” he claimed. “We use canoes to cross the Channel, which isn’t far.” On his last trip he said “there were 15 people and no one died.”
He showed pictures of the type of boat he said was used to get from France to the UK
He then showed examples of Hungarian work visas he claimed to have secured for customers, in the passports of Vietnamese nationals. These were followed by pictures of the type of boat we would take from France to the UK. It looked like a stock online image of a speed boat moored by a Greek island, rather than the flimsy rubber dinghies used in most illegal Channel crossings.
In his mind, it was much safer going by boat than in a container. I asked what would happen if the police intervened. “The lawyers will help if they’re arrested,” he insisted.
Did he ever worry that the people he was taking huge sums of money from might die, I asked. “I just help them get where they want,” he said. “I don’t force them to go there.”
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‘There’s a lot of sexual abuse’
For those migrants who reach the UK, life can be tough. Many end up working in restaurants, nail salons and cannabis farms, with little control over their lives.
“The UK is where the heaviest of the exploitation takes place,” said Mimi Vu, an anti-trafficking expert. Explaining that as Britain is the final destination, it is where the human trafficking of migrants occurs. “You have physical beatings and slavery. They’re locked up and not allowed to go anywhere. For women and girls, there’s a lot of sexual abuse.”
Vietnamese migrants arrive in Calais
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Framing those who arrive on British shores simply as “illegal migrants”, Mimi said, “misses the context of why the Vietnamese end up in the UK in the first place.” The latest surge in arrivals to these shores, she explains, is likely the product of people who started their journeys six months ago from Vietnam. While Hungary’s work visas are the target for corrupt agents, previously it was study programmes in Malta. Soon, it may be somewhere else.
Mimi also points out that some migrants do start out working legally, plugging labour shortages in countries, only to find themselves not making as much money as they hoped and ending up pushed into taking more dangerous forbidden routes to pay off the money they owe.
I think of how families like Le Van Ha’s have ended up in crippling debt after hoping his journey would change their lives for the better. How instead that journey can rob people of their lives and basic freedoms.
Five years on, the tragedy in Essex has not deterred people coming from Vietnam. Despite the dangers, it’s the reward not the risk that drives them forward.
World
US announces it will increase steps to limit revenue of Venezuelan president Maduro – as he begins third term
The US has announced it has increased its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
In a statement on Friday, the US treasury said up to $25m is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Mr Maduro and his named interior minister Diosdado Cabello.
Up to $15m is also being offered for information on the incoming defence minister Vladimir Padrino. Further sanctions have also been introduced against the South American country’s state-owned oil company and airline.
The reward was announced as Mr Maduro was sworn in for a third successive term as the Venezuelan president, following a disputed election win last year.
Sanctions from the US, UK and EU came as Maduro was sworn in for a third term as president. Pic: Reuters
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, said at the time Mr Maduro had secured 51% of the vote, beating his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez, who won 44%.
But while Venezuela’s electoral authority and top court declared him the winner, tallies confirming Mr Maduro’s win were never released. The country’s opposition also insists that ballot box level tallies show Mr Gonzalez won in a landslide.
Nationwide protests broke out over the dispute, with a brawl erupting in the capital Caracas when dozens of police in riot gear blocked the demonstrations and officers used tear gas to disperse them.
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From July 2024: Protests after Venezuela election results
More than 2,000 demonstrators were arrested, and Mr Gonzalez fled to Spain to seek asylum in September.
While being sworn in at the national assembly, Mr Maduro said: “May this new presidential term be a period of peace, of prosperity, of equality and the new democracy.”
He also accused the opposition of attempting to turn the inauguration into a “world war,” adding: “I have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America.”
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The UK and EU have also introduced new sanctions against Venezuelan officials – including the president of Venezuela’s supreme court Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez Rodriguez and the director of its criminal investigations department Asdrubal Jose Brito Hernandez.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Mr Maduro’s “claim to power is fraudulent” and that last year’s election “was neither free nor fair”.
“The UK will not stand by as Maduro continues to oppress, undermine democracy, and commit appalling human rights violations,” he added.
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Mr Maduro and his government have always rejected international sanctions as illegitimate measures that amount to an “economic war” designed to cripple Venezuela.
Those targeted by the UK’s sanctions will face travel bans and asset freezes, preventing them from entering the country and holding funds or economic resources.
World
Donald Trump says he’s ‘totally innocent’ and thanks judge moments before no-penalty sentence in hush money case
Donald Trump has been handed a no-penalty sentence following his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.
The incoming US president has received an unconditional discharge – meaning he will not face jail time, probation or a fine.
Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan could have jailed him for up to four years.
The sentencing in Manhattan comes just 10 days before the 78-year-old is due to be inaugurated as US president for a second time on 20 January.
Trump appeared at the hearing by video link and addressed the court before he was sentenced, telling the judge the case had been a “very terrible experience” for him.
He claimed it was handled inappropriately and by someone connected with his political opponents – referring to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
As it happened:
Trump sentenced in Manhattan court
Trump said: “It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election.
“This has been a political witch hunt.
“I am totally innocent. I did nothing wrong.”
Concluding his statement, he said: “I was treated very unfairly and I thank you very much.”
The judge then told the court it was up to him to “decide what is a just conclusion with a verdict of guilty”.
He said: “Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances.
“This has been a truly extraordinary case.”
He added that the “trial was a bit of a paradox” because “once the doors closed it was not unique”.
Pic: Reuters
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass had earlier argued in court that Trump “engaged in a campaign to undermine the rule of law” during the trial.
“He’s been unrelenting in his attacks against this court, prosecutors and their family,” Mr Steinglass said.
“His dangerous rhetoric and unconstitutional conduct has been a direct attack on the rule of law and he has publicly threatened to retaliate against the prosecutors.”
Mr Steinglass said this behaviour was “designed to have a chilling effect and to intimidate”.
It comes after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt by Trump to delay sentencing in the case on Thursday.
Trump’s lawyers argued that evidence used during the trial violated last summer’s Supreme Court ruling giving Trump broad immunity from prosecution over acts he took as president.
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Trump appeared via videolink with his attorney Todd Blanche. Pic: Reuters
Trump’s hush money conviction in May 2024 means he will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the US presidency.
He was found guilty in New York of 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to payments made to Ms Daniels, an adult film actor, before he won the 2016 US election.
Prosecutors claimed he had paid her $130,000 (£105,300) in hush money to not reveal details of what Ms Daniels said was a sexual relationship in 2006.
Trump has denied any liaison with Ms Daniels or any wrongdoing.
The trial made headlines around the world but the details of the case or Trump’s conviction didn’t deter American voters from picking him as president for a second time.
Trump appears in court during his trial. Pic: AP
What is an unconditional discharge?
Under New York state law, an unconditional discharge is a sentence imposed “without imprisonment, fine or probation supervision”.
The sentence is handed down when a judge is “of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant’s release”, according to the law.
It means Trump’s hush money case has been resolved without any punishment that could interfere with his return to the White House.
Unconditional discharges have been handed down in previous cases where, like Trump, people have been convicted of falsifying business records.
They have also been applied in relation to low-level offences such as speeding, trespassing and marijuana-related convictions.
World
Family of Leicester City chairman killed in football stadium helicopter crash sue manufacturer for £2bn
Leicester City’s owners have launched a landmark lawsuit against a helicopter manufacturer following the club chairman’s death in a crash in 2018.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s family are suing Italian company Leonardo SpA for £2.15bn after the 60-year-old chairman and four others were killed when their helicopter crashed just outside the King Power Stadium in October 2018.
The lawsuit is the largest fatal accident claim in English history, according to the family’s lawyers. They are asking for compensation for the loss of earnings and other damages, as a result of the billionaire’s death.
The legal action comes more than six years after the fatal crash and as an inquest into the death of the 60-year-old chairman and his fellow passengers is set to begin on Monday.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha celebrating after Leicester City won the Premier League in 2016. Pic: AP
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s son Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who took over as the club’s chairman, said: “My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done.
“That my own children, and their cousins will never know their grandfather compounds our suffering… My father trusted Leonardo when he bought that helicopter but the conclusions of the report into his death show that his trust was fatally misplaced. I hold them wholly responsible for his death.”
The late Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s company, King Power, was earning more than £2.5bn in revenue per year, according to his family’s lawyers. The lawsuit claims “that success was driven by Khun Vichai’s vision, drive, relationships, entrepreneurism, ingenuity and reputation.”
“All of this was lost with his death,” it adds.
The fatal crash took place shortly after the helicopter took off from Leicester’s ground following a 1-1 draw against West Ham on 27 October 2018.
The aircraft landed on a concrete step and four of the five occupants survived the initial impact, but all subsequently died in the fuel fire that engulfed the helicopter within a minute.
Thousands of tributes were left outside the ground in the wake of the tragedy. Pic: James Wilson/Sportimage
The other victims were two of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and Mr Swaffer’s girlfriend Izabela Roza Lechowicz, a fellow pilot.
Investigators found the pilot’s pedals became disconnected from the tail rotor – resulting in the aircraft making a sharp right turn which was “impossible” to control, before the helicopter spun quickly, approximately five times.
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The Air Accidents Investigation Branch described this as “a catastrophic failure” and concluded the pilot was unable to prevent the crash.
The lawsuit alleges the crash was the result of ‘multiple failures’ in Leonardo’s design process. It also alleges that the manufacturer failed to warn customers or regulators about the risk.
Sky News has contacted helicopter manufacturer Leonardo for comment.
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