The incident happened near the southeastern town of Mwenda near the Zambian border.

Zambian authorities have promised to step up the campaign against human trafficking following the death of 19 Ethiopian migrants by suffocation inside a Zambian registered container truck. "Our country has very porous borders, but we will put in place measures to ensure cases of human trafficking are curbed," Reuters quoted Zambia’s Home Affairs Minister, Davies Mwila as having stated.

The bodies of the Ethiopians were discovered on Thursday, June 16, 2016 just outside the town of Mwenda in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which is located near the Zambian border. "We stopped this vehicle ... because of the nauseous smell which was coming from the trailer," Jean-Pierre Lubosha, head of the DRC border control is quoted as saying. He reportedly told the press that the crew had at first claimed to be transporting fish. "The bodies were handed over to the Zambian authorities on Thursday. We interviewed the survivors who all claimed to be Ethiopian nationals," Lubosha said.

Ufkwa Kasongo Kibali, Interior Minister for the Province of Haut Katanga in DRC confirmed the deaths. He also disclosed that other 76 Ethiopians were found alive inside the container on the truck when it was stopped outside Mwenda, Irish Times reported. He reportedly said it was unclear why the Ethiopians were in the vehicle but UN-sponsored Radio Okapi reported that they were migrants heading to South Africa. The 76 survivors were reportedly handed over to the Zambian consulate.