UK’s Channel 4 Postpones Smuggling Format After 39 People Found Dead In Container Truck

British broadcaster Channel 4 has postponed factual format Smuggled after 39 people were found dead inside a container truck.

The network was set to air the two-part series, produced by Hurricane Man producer ScreenDog Productions, on Monday evening.

However, it has postponed the series after the shocking discovery in Essex earlier today. It’s believed that the 39 people, including one teenager, were transported in the back of a truck, registered in Bulgaria, in -25 degree conditions. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Channel 4 had been running trails for the show this week promoting the show that explores how effective Britain’s border security really is. The show follows several ordinary British citizens, who attempt to smuggle themselves from a variety of locations around continental Europe back into Britain without using their passport and evading Border Force authorities.

When it was announced in August, Alf Lawrie, Head of Factual Entertainment at Channel 4 said that the show had “real purpose at its heart”. “Extreme, authentic, and utterly timely, it is a stand-out experiment that we hope will inform the national conversation.”

A Channel 4 spokesperson said, “In light of the tragic events today, we have postponed the transmission of the series.”