Seven people were arrested in Bulgaria after the bodies of 18 immigrants were found yesterday, Friday, who died of suffocation in a truck, according to what an official in the Ministry of Interior announced today, Saturday (February 18, 2023). Seven people.”
Another government official also clarified that the head of the smugglers’ network is among the suspects. He was previously sentenced to five months in prison, suspended for human trafficking.
and found The bodies of the 18 migrants inside a truck Abandoned in a village near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, which has been facing for several months an unprecedented influx of migrants since the 2015 crisis. Residents reported to the police that there was an abandoned truck near the village of Lokorsko, 20 kilometers from the capital, Sofia.
According to the investigation, the truck was illegally carrying 52 people who hid under bundles of wood, most of them Afghan immigrants from Turkey. Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found bodies scattered in the grass around the truck. About 34 migrants were treated and taken to hospital.
Spas Spaskov, a doctor in the emergency department at Pirogov Hospital in Sofia, said that some of them were treated after they were poisoned by inhaling carbon dioxide from car exhausts. “They received a very limited amount of oxygen and lacked water, so they became severely dehydrated,” Spaskov told the private Nova TV channel. They haven’t eaten for several days.”
Borislav Sarafov, Deputy Prosecutor General, told reporters that these people, who are from Afghanistan, had enteredBulgarian lands A few days ago, after crossing the fence that was erected on the border with Turkey “by means of a ladder.” “They died of suffocation, as a large number of people were crammed into a very small space,” he added. He pointed out that it is the biggest migration-related tragedy ever happening in Bulgaria.
According to investigators’ notes, the migrants spent 10 to 12 hours before their bodies were found. “They suffered from a lack of oxygen, they were cold, and they certainly hadn’t eaten for days,” Health Minister Esen Medidev said.
Bulgaria has seen thatIt is a gateway to entry into the European Union. An increase in the number of clandestine immigrants on its territory, despite the presence of a barbed wire fence along its 234-kilometer border with Turkey.
This tragedy is reminiscent of the finding of the bodies of 39 Vietnamese in 2019 in a refrigerated truck near London. Austria witnessed a similar tragedy in 2019. At that time, police found an abandoned refrigerated truck on the side of a highway in Parndorf, near the Hungarian border, containing the decomposing bodies of 71 migrants, men, women and children.
Bulgaria is considered a gateway to the European Union, and last year witnessed an increase in the number of illegal immigrants on its territory, despite the existence of a 234-kilometer-long barbed wire separating its borders from Turkish lands.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
Crossing into the bosom of a refugee father
A father crosses from Turkey to Greece, appearing to embrace the pleasure of his liver, in a touching scene that sums up the bitter humanitarian situation of thousands of refugees fleeing into the unknown between the borders of Turkey and Greece.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
The border fence prevents refugees from crossing
The flow of migrants has been continuing for days to the Greek-Turkish border, in very cold weather. Many of them carry only light luggage and a few provisions. Although they came wishing for open borders, they found barbed wire and tear gas waiting for them.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
The numbers are constantly increasing
Despite the huge numbers, the borders remain closed to them. At the Bazarkul border crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration, about thirteen thousand migrants, including families and children, are crowding. And Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu tweeted through his official account on Twitter that nearly seventy-eight thousand people were on their way to the city of Edirne, located on the Turkish borders with Greece and Bulgaria.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
Gas bombs in the face of the displaced
Tension hangs over the situation in the border area in light of the escalation of clashes between migrants and the Greek border police in the past days, as the security forces tried to control the situation using tear gas and pepper spray, and some migrants responded by throwing stones at the police.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
Dangers on the Evros River border
A Syrian mother and her daughter tried to cross the Evros River on the border between Greece and Turkey, but before they reached the Greek shores, their boat filled with water, which led to the sinking of the boat and stuck them on a small island. Although the volunteers managed to save them, there are many others who are trying to take this route to reach Europe.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
Foiling attempts to cross the Evros River
The Greek Coast Guard authorities have thwarted about 4,000 illegal crossing attempts to its shores via the Evros River. A Greek government spokesman said in Athens that these measures are protection for the Greek and European borders. Thousands of immigrants have taken this route in the past years, and many of them drowned in the river. But despite its danger, immigrants are still trying to cross it to reach Greek territory.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
The President of the European Commission visits the border region
In a gesture of solidarity with Greece, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the Orestiada region, located on the borders of Greece and Turkey, to closely monitor the situation. Von der Leyen said that Europe shares the Greek concern, stressing that these borders are not only Greek, but also European.
Impressive human scenes on the Greek-Turkish border… An escape into the unknown
Unpleasant surprise for refugees!
A state of tension prevails among the residents of the Greek island of Lesbos, in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of migrants. In the photo: a number of the island’s residents standing up to the refugees who arrived on their boat, in an attempt to send a message to close the road to the incoming groups. Al-Jazeera journalists also reported being threatened by residents. The situation continues to deteriorate as more refugees are expected to arrive in the coming days. Prepared by Benike Miriam/Salma Hamed
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