Hungary: Discovery of 17 Migrants Stacked in an Unventilated Space

Hungarian police found 17 migrants stacked in an unventilated area when they stopped a truck with Turkish license plates near the southern border. They reported on their website that "the migrants, 16 from Egypt and one from Libya, were in need of immediate medical care," noting that "swift action following a report from Romanian authorities saved their lives." The police stated that they stopped the truck yesterday near the village of Kishtelik and called ambulances for the migrants, also detaining a human smuggler of Turkish nationality. In February, 18 Afghan migrants were found dead in an abandoned truck on a back road near the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Thousands fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia undertake the land journey through the Balkans to Europe. Hungary has erected a fence on its southern border with Serbia, but migrants continue to use the route that crosses Hungary to Western Europe.