Austria Migrants: Truck Filled With Bodies Of 20 Migrants, Maybe Up To 50, Found Abandoned


A truck full of bodies was found in Austria, near the Hungarian border. The dead bodies of between 20 and 50 refugees were found in a tractor-trailer abandoned on the side of the road in the eastern region of the country, USA Today reports. The bodies of at least 20 refugees — and as many as 50 — were found Thursday in a tractor-trailer abandoned on the side of the road in eastern Austria near the Hungarian border, according to multiple media reports.

The nations which the refugees were from is not yet clear. The truck full of bodies may likely contain the remains of individuals from the Middle East and North Africa, which have been filtering into southern Europe for quite some time. Those seeking to escape the ongoing civil war in Syria have reportedly made their way to both Turkey and Greece. The influx of illegal immigrants prompted Hungarian officials to build a new border fence to prevent entry.

Burgeland, Austria, National Police Director Hanspeter Doskozil said the truck full of dead bodies could mean that the refugees suffocated inside the the tractor-trailer or had died earlier and were discovered en route, according to a Die Presse report. Doskozil added that the truck was abandoned on the road last Wednesday, and the police discovered the dead bodies while investigating the vehicle the following day.

The truck reportedly belongs to a Slovakian chicken producer and carried a Hungarian flag. The rear door of the semi-truck was left open, leaving the dead bodies exposed. The driver appears to have fled the scene, according to authorities in Austria. Doskozil also noted that the 20 to 50 corpses were in an “advanced state of decomposition.”

The Austrian National Police Director deemed the incident a “terrible crime.” He can confirm that a minimum of 30 bodies were believed to have been found, but added that the victim count could increase to as much as 50 after medical examiners complete their investigation.

The 7.5-ton tractor-trailer truck was found along the highway near Neusiedl am See — about 30 miles from Vienna and 10 miles from the Hungarian and Slovakian borders. The highway comprises part of a “major artery” which links eastern Europe to France and Germany, NBC News reports.

The Interior Minister of Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said the truck full of dead bodies was a “tragedy” committed by “criminals” and should completely dispel the theory that the refugee smugglers involved were “mild-mannered” individuals. Mikl-Leitner added that the discovery is a disaster and should “signal to Europe” that the nation should act on the human smuggling matter as quickly as possible.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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