Vienna (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Austrian police said the 71 people found inside an abandoned lorry appeared to be refugees from Syria.
Hungarian police said they have arrested four people in connection with the case. Three of those arrested are Bulgarian and one is Afghan
Police in Austria say the bodies of 71 people – 59 men, 8 women and 4 children – were discovered in a lorry abandoned on the road to Vienna. They are thought to have been dead for about two days.
Officials said the group were probably refugees from Syria who died after suffocating in the vehicle. The local police chief said a travel document found on the lorry suggests they were Syrian migrants.
Tens of thousands of migrants have fled wars in the Middle East and Africa in recent months, trying to make their way for Europe.
Most come by sea, from Libya to Malta and Sicily, or from Turkey to Greece, Macedonia and then Hungary and Northern Europe.
Syria and Afghanistan appear to be the country of origin of most of the migrants. According to some sources, some 78,000 Syrians and 32,500 Afghans have crossed the Mediterranean so far. Another 28,790 Syrians and 29,245 Afghans chose the Balkan route.
Many pay large sums of money to people smugglers to get them to Europe. The deadliest route is across the Mediterranean in rickety boats.
In fact, in the latest development, hundreds of people are feared dead after two boats carrying up to 500 migrants capsized off the Libyan city of Zuwara, residents and officials said.
The first boat, which signalled for help early on Thursday, had nearly 50 people on board. The second overcrowded boat, which sank much later, had about 400 passengers.
Libyan officials said about 200 people were rescued by the country’s coast guard, but an additional 100 did not make it.