50 found dead in Austria as refugee crisis rages
A refrigerated truck is towed along a highway near Neusiedl am See, Austria, on August 27, 2015. The bodies of between 20 and 50 migrants have been found in the truck on the A 4 highway in Austria, police said, the latest tragedy involving people desperately trying to reach Europe. AFP PHOTO
What you need to know:
- A day earlier, at least 55 refugees were found dead.
VIENNA
The bodies of between 20 and 50 refugees were found in a truck in Austria on Thursday, highlighting the dark side of Europe’s refugee crisis as regional leaders struggle to stem the massive flow of people desperately trying to reach the EU.
The gruesome discovery on a motorway near the Slovakia and Hungary borders was thought to be the worst tragedy on land in Europe’s worst refugee crisis since 1945.
Police said the vehicle — which had the markings of a Slovakian poultry company and bore Hungarian number plates — contained between 20 and 50 bodies. It was not yet clear how they had died. “Today is a dark day... This tragedy affects us all deeply,” Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said at a press conference.
She said Austria would tighten border controls and intensify police checks on international trains, and called on the other 27 EU member states to show “zero tolerance” for people smugglers.
SPIRIT OF SOLIDARITY
The deaths came a day after at least 55 refugees were found dead in stricken boats in the Mediterranean, adding to a toll of more than 2,300 people who have drowned while attempting to reach Europe by sea.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Balkan leaders, meeting in Vienna to discuss how to tackle the escalating crisis, reacted with shock to the Austrian tragedy.
“We were all shaken by the horrible news that up to 50 people lost their lives because they were in a situation where people-smugglers did not care about their lives,” Mrs Merkel said.
“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.”
European leaders have come under fire for failing to tackle the arrival of several hundred thousand refugees this year, many fleeing hotspots such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The western Balkans has become a major route for refugees trying to cross over into EU member state Hungary. Most then try to make it to wealthier European countries like Germany and Sweden.
Speaking at the Vienna meeting, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said outside money provided so far was insufficient to handle the large numbers.
“This is a problem of the European Union and we (the transit countries) are expected to come up with an action plan,” Mr Dacic said.
“I think the European Union has to come up with a plan first,” he said. “I have to be very direct here. Please understand, we are bearing the brunt of the problem.”
This was echoed by his counterpart from Macedonia, which last week declared a state of emergency and shut its border with Greece for three days after being unable to cope.
