01:21Austria: Bodies of 50 dead refugees transferred ahead of forensic examination
A truck containing up to 50 dead refugees that was found abandoned next to the A4 motorway near the Austrian town of Parndorf, was moved to a building complex in Asfinag before finally being transferred to a cooling facility in Nickelsdorf, Thursday. From here the corpses are expected to be transported to Vienna for forensic examination.
The police were alerted to the dead refugees when an Austrian motorway patrol noticed liquid dripping from the abandoned truck on a motorway in eastern Austria near the Hungarian border. When the investigating officers opened the truck, it turned out the liquid came from around 20-50 decomposing bodies inside. It appears the people in the truck had suffocated whilst being trafficked and were then left on the side of the motorway on Wednesday. The identities of the deceased are still unknown and it is believed they died before the truck entered Austria. The truck has now been moved to a hall with cooling facilities, where police officers are trying to identify the number and identity of the victims before the bodies are brought to Vienna to undergo an autopsy.
The harrowing find coincided with a summit in Vienna where leaders gathered to discuss the migrant crisis in Europe. Speaking at the summit German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the incident served as a "warning to us to tackle migration fast."
A memorial service for the victims inside the truck will be held at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral on Monday.
01:21A truck containing up to 50 dead refugees that was found abandoned next to the A4 motorway near the Austrian town of Parndorf, was moved to a building complex in Asfinag before finally being transferred to a cooling facility in Nickelsdorf, Thursday. From here the corpses are expected to be transported to Vienna for forensic examination.
The police were alerted to the dead refugees when an Austrian motorway patrol noticed liquid dripping from the abandoned truck on a motorway in eastern Austria near the Hungarian border. When the investigating officers opened the truck, it turned out the liquid came from around 20-50 decomposing bodies inside. It appears the people in the truck had suffocated whilst being trafficked and were then left on the side of the motorway on Wednesday. The identities of the deceased are still unknown and it is believed they died before the truck entered Austria. The truck has now been moved to a hall with cooling facilities, where police officers are trying to identify the number and identity of the victims before the bodies are brought to Vienna to undergo an autopsy.
The harrowing find coincided with a summit in Vienna where leaders gathered to discuss the migrant crisis in Europe. Speaking at the summit German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the incident served as a "warning to us to tackle migration fast."
A memorial service for the victims inside the truck will be held at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral on Monday.