Suspects in Austria Migrant Truck Deaths Arrested
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Three people believed to be part of a human smuggling operation were arrested overnight in Hungary in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants found in a refrigerated truck abandoned on Austria's main highway, law enforcement officials said Friday.
At least two of those arrested are Bulgarian citizens, while the third has Hungarian identity papers, police said, AP reproted.
One is the truck owner, a Bulgarian, while two others were apparently taking turns driving, said Hans Peter Doskozil, chief of police in Burgenland province, where the truck was found. He said police believe that the suspects were part of a larger Bulgarian-Hungarian human smuggling ring.
In Austria, officials said they believe the migrants suffocated in the truck. Investigators found a Syrian travel document, indicating that at least some of the dead were refugees fleeing violence in Syria, though it wasn't clear if some were from elsewhere.
The 71 included eight women and four children, the youngest a girl between 1 and 2 years old, the others boys aged 8 to 10. Authorities initially estimated the death toll at 20 to 50, but raised it after towing the truck to a refrigerated warehouse and counting the partially decomposed bodies.
