Bulgarian police finds 18 dead migrants in abandoned truck
According to the interior ministry, an abandoned truck was discovered with the bodies of 18 migrants on Friday, as Bulgaria deals with a rise in illegal border crossings.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (TechtUSA) - Authorities have reported that the bodies of 18 migrants from Afghanistan, one of whom was a child, were discovered in an abandoned truck near the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Following the discovery, Bulgarian police arrested four individuals.
Borislav Sarafov, the head of Bulgaria's National Investigative Service, stated to the press that around 40 migrants were being transported in the truck and that a significant number of them had died from suffocation.
According to Borislav Sarafov, the migrants had entered Bulgaria illegally by crossing the border from Turkey and had been hiding in nearby woods for two days before they were taken to the truck near the southeastern Bulgarian city of Yambol.
Asen Medzhidiev, the Bulgarian Health Minister, stated that 34 of the migrants, including five children, were taken to hospitals in Sofia. Some of them were in a critical, yet stable, condition.
"They have suffered from lack of oxygen, their clothes are wet, they are freezing, and obviously haven't eaten for days," Mr. Medzhidiev stated.
Asen Medzhidiev further added that most of the surviving migrants were in a very poor condition, with 10 of them being placed in intensive care. The driver of the truck was not present at the scene. The police discovered the passengers in a hidden compartment located underneath a load of timber.
Migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan frequently use Bulgaria as a route to enter the European Union, although many do not remain in the country and instead try to reach wealthier nations in Western Europe with the assistance of smugglers.
