18 migrants found dead in truck near Bulgaria's capital

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Eighteen migrants were found dead in a truck near the Bulgarian capital Sofia, local media reported on Friday.

The victims, who apparently suffocated in the truck, were young men of Afghan nationality, with the exception of one boy of about 6 or 7, reported state-run news agency BTA.

It added that 34 survivors, also Afghans, were found exhausted due to cold weather and hunger in the truck, in the village of Lokorskonear.

​​​​​​​An investigation has so far established that the migrants crossed the border with the help of a ladder, spent several days in the forest near the town of Yambol, and then got onto the truck in which they were found, said the report.

Four people including the truck driver were arrested for alleged involvement in the incident, the agency said.

Ivan Demerdzhiev, the interior minister, said the mastermind behind the tragic incident is a man convicted of human smuggling,

“The police always do their job in these cases, and they have done it now. It is high time that parliament also did its job and adopted what is requested as an instrument to fight human smuggling,” he said.