The discovery of 71 bodies of immigrants in the van found on Thursday on a highway in Austria has led to three arrests in Hungary. On the other hand the Austrian police are looking for the leader of this group, which allegedly would be in Romania, reports Le Temps online in the Friday.
According to Swiss newspaper’s website, the search operation is about those who are guilty of drama occurred on Austrian motorway, south of Vienna.
According to the first elements of the investigation, writes the Austrian newspaper Krone, quoted by Le Temps, the Austrian police operated three arrests in Hungary.
The three allegedly would be behind the human trafficking involving the dead immigrants found in the van.
The same source informs that the Austrian police are in search of the leader of this ‘mafia’ who would hide in Romania.
On the night of Thursday to Friday the Austrian police found 71 bodies of immigrants in decomposition in a van abandoned on the emergency lane on the highway linking Neusiedl and Parndorf.
According to the Austrian authorities, the 7.5 tonnes van left Budapest on Wednesday at first light for the Austro-Hungarian border. The vehicle crossed the border on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
The vehicle, registered in Hungary and imprinted with the logo of a Slovak poultry company, was abandoned on Thursday morning. The driver was not yet found.
Initially 50 bodies were reported as being found.
According to the BBC, the victims included 59 men, eight women and four children who are thought to have been dead for about two days. Officials said the group appeared to be refugees from Syria and probably died after suffocating in the vehicle. Police in Hungary say they have arrested four people – three Bulgarians and one Afghan – linked to the lorry.