Six migrant women have been rescued from the back of a refrigerated lorry in France after they text-messaged a BBC reporter - setting off a desperate cross-border search.

Six migrant women have been rescued from the back of a refrigerated lorry in France after they text-messaged a BBC reporter - setting off a desperate cross-border search. Four Vietnamese and two Iraqi women were aboard the lorry, having spent more than 10 hours in a cramped space, surrounded by boxes of bananas, hoping to make it to UK or Ireland, when they realised the lorry was heading in the opposite direction. According to the women, the lorry doors had been sealed shut with an iron bar, meaning they were trapped inside. Desperate and running out of clean air to breathe, it was a race against time for the women. Watch | Gravitas: Essex Lorry Mystery: Who Were The 39 Migrants Victims That Died? × At around midday on Wednesday (Sep 27), Luu received a text on her phone which read: "There are some people who crossed the border from France to England in a refrigerated van." Before she could answer, a call came in and a panicked voice asked her: "Are you in Europe? Please help, it's urgent." The voice on the call was of a male and Luu was unable to recognise him. However, she understood that it was someone who knew her from when she covered the 2019 Essex lorry deaths. Authorities track the lorry Although the man was unable to provide proper details about the location of the lorry, he put one of the women in contact with the reporter. “It’s so cold, it [the cooler] keeps blowing,” one of the migrants told Luu over text, before sending two short videos showing the cramped space and the few dozen centimetres of floor space where the women could sit. After some communication, the texter was able to share her live GPS location, allowing the reporter to determine that the lorry was on the E15 highway near Dracé, north of Lyon. Luu then contacted a colleague in France and asked them to contact the closest police station. "We're so suffocated," came another message from the women, as the authorities attempted to track the lorry. The BBC reporter assured the women that they would be saved and told them to keep calm and avoid talking in order to save air. Also read | Essex lorry deaths: What we know about victims Soon afterwards the French police said they managed to intercept the lorry. The driver was arrested and preliminary investigation revealed that the vehicle was from Lithuania and one of the rescued women was a minor. Agencies are now probing the human trafficking angle. The incident brought horror memories of the 2019 Essex lorry death where 39 Vietnamese migrants lost their lives while attempting to cross the border. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

France: Six migrant women trapped in lorry rescued after distress texts to reporter

The&nbsp;first&nbsp;remains&nbsp;of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/driver-charged-as-more-vietnamese-feared-dead-among-39-uk-truck-victims-261361">39 people found dead</a> in a&nbsp;truck&nbsp;in Britain last month arrived in&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;early Wednesday, an airport security source said.

The bodies arrived on a commercial&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;Airlines flight from London to Hanoi, where ambulances and security personnel waited at the airport.

"The plane landed with 16 bodies on board... we are waiting to transfer the bodies to local authorities," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An official letter seen by AFP confirmed that 16 bodies would&nbsp;arrive&nbsp;in&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;Wednesday. The 16&nbsp;victims&nbsp;came from three provinces in central&nbsp;Vietnam.

The other&nbsp;remains&nbsp;are expected to&nbsp;arrive&nbsp;in the coming days, though officials have not confirmed the date publicly.

Families have been frozen in grief for weeks waiting for their relatives' return, and many have taken out hefty loans from the government to cover the cost of repatriation.

The&nbsp;remains&nbsp;were expected to be delivered later Wednesday to relatives in three central provinces,&nbsp;Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh,&nbsp;so families could hold funerals and burial ceremonies.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vietnam-strongly-condemns-human-trafficking-after-uk-truck-tragedy-259460">The bodies of 31 men and eight women</a> were discovered in a refrigerated lorry in an industrial state in Essex east of London on October 23.

Police initially identified the&nbsp;victims&nbsp;as Chinese but families in&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;later came forward with fears their relatives were on the&nbsp;truck.

The United Kingdom is a top destination for Vietnamese illegal migrants.

Many arrange trips through brokers who promise them well-paid jobs and end up working in nail bars or on cannabis farms, deep in debt for their dangerous trips over.

'VIP route'&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vietnam-arrests-eight-in-connection-with-uk-truck-deaths-259812">Several families of the 39&nbsp;victims</a>&nbsp;told AFP they borrowed thousands of dollars to pay for their relatives' trips to Europe.

They are now further in debt having taken loans from the government to bring their relatives back.

Families were given two options for repatriation: $1,774 to bring back ashes, or $2,858 for the cost of a coffin carrying the body.

Though relatives were encouraged by authorities to opt for ashes "to ensure speed, low cost and sanitation safety", many paid more for the bodies to carry out traditional burials.

Cremation is rare in the&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;countryside, where many of the&nbsp;victims&nbsp;were from.

Most hailed from just a handful of central&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;provinces, which are among the poorest in the country and where well-entrenched networks of illegal brokers can easily facilitate risky trips abroad.

Ten of the&nbsp;victims&nbsp;were teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, and 30 of the group came from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

They paid thousands of dollars to brokers who promised the&nbsp;truck&nbsp;was the safer option,&nbsp;billed as the 'VIP route',&nbsp;their families told AFP.

On Monday, the Northern Irish driver of the&nbsp;truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

He also admitted to acquiring the cash that came from criminal conduct but did not plead guilty to 41 other charges levelled against him.

Several other people have been arrested in the&nbsp;UK&nbsp;over the incident while&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;has held at least 10 people, though none have been formally charged.

The first remains of the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain last month arrived in Vietnam early Wednesday, an airport security source said. The bodies arrived on a commercial Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi, where ambulances and security personnel waited at the airport.

The first remains of the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain last month arrived in Vietnam early Wednesday, an airport security source said. The bodies arrived on a commercial Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi, where ambulances and security personnel waited at the airport. "The plane landed with 16 bodies on board... we are waiting to transfer the bodies to local authorities," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. An official letter seen by AFP confirmed that 16 bodies would arrive in Vietnam Wednesday. The 16 victims came from three provinces in central Vietnam. The other remains are expected to arrive in the coming days, though officials have not confirmed the date publicly. Families have been frozen in grief for weeks waiting for their relatives' return, and many have taken out hefty loans from the government to cover the cost of repatriation. The remains were expected to be delivered later Wednesday to relatives in three central provinces, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, so families could hold funerals and burial ceremonies. The bodies of 31 men and eight women were discovered in a refrigerated lorry in an industrial state in Essex east of London on October 23. Police initially identified the victims as Chinese but families in Vietnam later came forward with fears their relatives were on the truck. The United Kingdom is a top destination for Vietnamese illegal migrants. Many arrange trips through brokers who promise them well-paid jobs and end up working in nail bars or on cannabis farms, deep in debt for their dangerous trips over. 'VIP route' Several families of the 39 victims told AFP they borrowed thousands of dollars to pay for their relatives' trips to Europe. They are now further in debt having taken loans from the government to bring their relatives back. Families were given two options for repatriation: $1,774 to bring back ashes, or $2,858 for the cost of a coffin carrying the body. Though relatives were encouraged by authorities to opt for ashes "to ensure speed, low cost and sanitation safety", many paid more for the bodies to carry out traditional burials. Cremation is rare in the Vietnam countryside, where many of the victims were from. Most hailed from just a handful of central Vietnam provinces, which are among the poorest in the country and where well-entrenched networks of illegal brokers can easily facilitate risky trips abroad. Ten of the victims were teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, and 30 of the group came from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. They paid thousands of dollars to brokers who promised the truck was the safer option, billed as the 'VIP route', their families told AFP. On Monday, the Northern Irish driver of the truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration. He also admitted to acquiring the cash that came from criminal conduct but did not plead guilty to 41 other charges levelled against him. Several other people have been arrested in the UK over the incident while Vietnam has held at least 10 people, though none have been formally charged.

Remains of United Kingdom lorry victims arrive in Vietnam

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France: Six migrant women trapped in lorry rescued after distress texts to reporter

Remains of United Kingdom lorry victims arrive in Vietnam