50 refugees found dead in truck, say Austrian police

ABOUT 50 refugees have been found dead in a truck in Austria, as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Balkan leaders gathered in Vienna to decide on how to tackle together the biggest migration crisis to hit Europe since World War II.

The vehicle, which contained between 20 and 50 bodies, was found on a parking strip off the highway in Burgenland state, police spokesman, Hans Peter Doskozil, said at a press conference with Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner yesterday. “This tragedy affects us all deeply,” Mikl-Leitner said.

“Human traffickers are criminals. Anyone still thinking that they’re kind helpers cannot be helped.” It was not immediately clear how the people in the truck had died, nor how long they had been there.  More than 28,300 people applied for refugee protection in Austria in the first half of the year, with many coming from Syria.