BULGARIA: A truck abandoned on a dirt road close to Bulgaria’s capital Sofia contained 18 dead Afghan migrants and refugees (aged between 13 and 35 years). According to the prosecutors, the truck was left close to the village of Lokorsko after the driver and his friend discovered that a lot of people from the group of 52 in the hidden compartments of the truck, which were demarcated with foil, were giddy and some were already dead.
The truck contained Afghans who arrived from Turkey and planned to go towards Western Europe via Serbia. A spokesman for the Sofia Public Prosecutor’s Office, Hristo Krastev, stated that the smuggling group’s accused ringleader and six Bulgarians responsible for the case were indicted. Subject to a conviction on charges of involuntary murder, taking part in organized crime, and smuggling people, the accused would be subject to 15 years in prison.
One of the suspects was formally accused in absentia, whereas two others had not been charged despite being arrested. The truck’s drivers had heard loud, desperate noises and knocks, but they initially ignored them. Later, they discovered the dead victims and fled. Borislav Sarafov, Deputy Attorney General, stated, “The people transported were curled up and pushed against each other like in a tin can. They died slowly and painfully for 30 to 60 minutes. It is an extraordinary human tragedy.”
He added, “It was out of greed that the smugglers carried 52 people. They had previously transported between 25 and 35 people at a time, at least twice a month.”
34 people were rescued and admitted to the hospital, affected hugely by carbon monoxide poisoning from exhaust pipes. Bulgaria is dealing with an increase in illegal border crossings. This incident was one of the deadliest in relation to smuggling people.
In 2015, the bodies of 71 migrants were found on an Austrian highway. Three truck drivers from Bulgaria were accused and charged with their deaths.
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