Vienna: Austrian police found the decomposing bodies of up to 50 migrants in an abandoned truck yesterday, sparking a cross-border hunt for the people-smugglers responsible in the latest tragedy in the Europe-wide crisis.
The grisly discovery on a motorway near the Slovakia and Hungary borders came as European leaders again met to try to find ways to handle the flow of tens of thousands of people seeking refuge in the European Union.
Police said the vehicle — which had the markings of a Slovakian poultry company and Hungarian number plates — contained between 20 and 50 bodies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Austria for a summit with Balkan leaders, said she was “shaken” by the “horrible” news.
“This is a warning to us to tackle this migrants issue quickly and in a European spirit, which means in a spirit of solidarity, and to find solutions,” Merkel said. “Today is a dark day... This tragedy affects us all deeply,” Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told a press conference. “Human traffickers are criminals. Anyone still thinking that they’re kind helpers cannot be helped,” the minister said.
Police said more details including the number of dead would be given on today morning. The lorry, which police said was leaking “decomposing body fluids”, was taken elsewhere for the bodies to be removed.
AFP
