100 migrants per hour arriving in Germany

More than 100 migrants an hour arrived in Germany early Wednesday amid a record influx travelling on packed trains to the southern city of Munich, police said.

An average of 109 illegal entries per hour were registered between midnight and 6:00 am local time (2200-0400 GMT) nationwide, said federal police.

The national total for Tuesday was 3,709 — more than twice the daily average of recent weeks — with most arriving in Munich by rail from Hungary via Austria.

Of the day’s entries without valid visas, 3,170 were in the police district that covers Munich and areas close to the Austrian border, said spokesman Gero von Vegesack.

Germany — Europe’s most populous nation and biggest economy — has become the top EU destination for refugees and migrants fleeing conflict and misery.

So far this year, German police have recorded over 125,000 illegal entries — more than double last year’s total of about 57,000, and sharply up from around 26,000 in 2013.

Last year the highest number of recorded illegal entries to Germany came from war-torn Syria, followed by Eritrea, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Serbia.