86 migrants found in truck in Austria, including 16 children

Eighty-six illegal migrants, mostly from Afghanistan, were found in a truck stopped on the Austrian highway, police announced on Sunday, reports the Patria News Agency.

Sixteen children, the youngest five months old, were in the group which, according to authorities, most likely spent twelve hours without leaving the truck. A woman eight months pregnant lost consciousness during the ride and was transported to the hospital, APA reports.

According to ORF, the Austrian state television, several men also felt unwell. The passengers in the truck had to puncture holes to be able to breathe more easily. Austria is on the route of migrants entering the EU via the Serbian-Hungarian border and, fleeing in increasing numbers from conflicts in their homeland, are trying to reach Germany and Scandinavian countries. Last week, Austria announced data on more than 1,700 migrants found in its territory since the beginning of the year.

Only two migrants, who were taken care of by the Red Cross on Saturday, applied for asylum in Austria. Sixty are from Afghanistan, twenty from Iraq, and six from Pakistan.

The smuggler driving the truck managed to escape before the police arrived. Austria finds migrants almost every day. On Saturday, they discovered almost 40 sitting on the grass by the highway. According to ORF, these were six Syrian families.