1 of 1 Police truck in Sofia, Bulgaria found with bodies of people who according to the government were illegal migrants, February 17, 2023. — Photo: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/ Portal Police truck in Sofia, Bulgaria, found with bodies of people who were killed by by the government as illegal migrants, on February 17, 2023. — Photo: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/Portal
Eighteen migrants were found dead in an abandoned truck at the entrance of Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, this Friday (17).
They were in the back of the truck that police said was was locked out. A hypothesis the police is that they died for it suffocation.
In recent months, the Balkan country has received an influx of people unprecedented in Europe since the 2015 migration crisis.
Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said allegations suggest the vehicle was illegally transporting immigrants. The steward said there were a total of 40 people in the truck the other 12 were taken to hospital, ten of them in serious condition.
“According to initial indications, the vehicle was illegally transporting around 40 migrants hidden under wood,” the ministry said.
The cause of death is still unknown, but police confirmed that there was little oxygen inside the vehicle when officers opened the door. The hypothesis of a traffic accident was excluded.
The truck was abandoned 20 kilometers from the entrance to Sofia when it was found by the police.
Through preliminary investigations, police have already arrested three people suspected of being involved in the truck, according to the head of the local police investigation service, Borislav Sarafov.
other cases
In June, Texas police found 50 migrants dead in a truck.
This isn’t the first time migrants have been found locked in truck beds.
Last year, in one of the deadliest cases on the USMexico border, Texas police found 50 dead migrants, also in an abandoned truck in the state. The suspicion is that they died of hypothermia thermometers read more than 39 ° C in the area.