April 6, 2023, 3:19 PM
April 6, 2023, 3:19 PM
Thirty-five migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal and Egypt with symptoms of hypothermia were found in a trailer of a truck in southern Austria, reported this Thursday (04.06.2023) the Police of the Austrian region of Carinthia, who have arrested the vehicle driver.
The discovery of this case of human smuggling occurred on Wednesday night in a workshop where the Polish-registered truck had been taken for repairs after being damaged on a motorway.
The vehicle had left a rest area in the opposite direction, and “consequently, traffic spikes were activated that damaged its tires and set some of them on fire,” the police explained in a statement published on its website.
Although the 68-year-old driver, a Turkish national, was able to put out the flames himself, the Police, who had been alarmed by several witnesses who had observed and reported the incident, ordered the vehicle to be towed to a workshop in the city of Villach.
“At that time there was no reason to inspect the sealed trailer,” which was left parked while the truck was being repaired, the police note reports.
He adds that the driver contacted his “boss” to explain the situation, and that he reacted nervously, putting pressure on the shop staff to get the repairs done as quickly as possible.
“Around 9:00 p.m., an employee of the company where the trailer was parked heard noises of blows. With a thermal imaging camera, he detected people inside” and informed the Police.
Agents found “35 people from Bangladesh, Nepal and Egypt” who had been trapped inside the trailer without supplies for more than 70 hours” and were showing symptoms of hypothermia.
“At the moment, the travel route and the destination country are still being investigated” for the illegal transport of people.
The driver was detained on suspicion of illegal human smuggling, and the refugees were transferred to temporary accommodation.
This case is reminiscent in Austria of the general commotion caused in August 2015 by the discovery of 71 dead refugees in an abandoned refrigerated truck on an Austrian highway near Hungary.
