Bodies of Syrian Refugees Discovered on Smuggling Bus in Austria

The bodies of Syrian refugees trying to get to Europe were found in a bus in eastern Austria, according to the Step News Agency.

On Tuesday, Austrian police found the bodies of Syrian refugees inside a minibus in the Burgenland area of eastern Austria, near the border with Hungary, according to Western media reports on Wednesday.

Bodies of Syrian refugees found

The reports indicated that police found the bodies of two people, along with 28 other Syrian refugees, who had traveled from Eastern Europe.

Austrian police stated that the victims were Syrian Kurds who were aged around 30 years old, according to data and papers in their possession.

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Police explained that the cause of death was unclear and would need to be confirmed through autopsies. Available evidence suggests that the cause of death could be exhaustion and severe dehydration.

The driver flees

The media reported that Austrian police launched a search for the bus driver, who fled after being stopped by police. The authorities raised the possibility that the driver could be armed, and called in helicopters to participate in the manhunt.

Hans Peter Doskozil, the governor of Burgenland, said that the comparison with deaths [of Syrian refugees] in 2015 was “frightening.” Doskozil added that Tuesday’s incident demonstrated the “inhumanity of organized human trafficking” and called for reforming processes for asylum claims across Europe.

The incident comes six years after authorities found 71 people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan — including women and children — suffocated in a truck. This tragedy, which occurred in 2015, occurred during a similar smuggling trip in the Parndorf area of Burgenland province.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

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