11 migrants freed from refrigerated truck in Bavaria
December 23, 2019
Germany's federal police force said on Monday that 11 migrants were freed from a refrigerated truck at a service station in Bavaria.
The migrants boarded the truck in Serbia and were found at a highway service station on Saturday. Police said that the migrants were aged 14 to 31, came from Afghanistan, and were taken into police custody.
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Officials found the people when the driver pulled over near the southern town of Passau, adjacent to the Austrian border in Bavaria, after hearing knocking sounds coming from the truck's trailer. The passengers said they were having problems breathing and were starting to suffer headaches.
Police say that the driver gave them credible assurances that he had no knowledge of the passengers.
The truck, which was on its way to Belgium, originated in Turkey and was reportedly loaded with fruit. Had it continued on to its destination, the situation could have turned fatal for the passengers. In October, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Essex, England.
lc/msh (dpa, AP)