On Thursday, August 27, an abandoned truck in a highway in eastern Austria was found "full of bodies," shocking European nations while highlighting the persistent migrant problem in the continent.
According to The Boston Globe, the dead bodies in the truck were thought to be migrants on their way to Central Europe, toward wealthier countries in the north - particularly Germany.
A highway patrol officer reportedly found the bodies shortly before noon Thursday, after smelling a putrid scent and liquid from the back of the truck. The vehicle was found abandoned near the village of Parndorf in Austria, located on the main expressway which is between Vienna and Budapest.
Police Spokesman Gerald Pangl in the Austrian state of Burgenland told NBC News that the number of dead bodies inside the abandoned truck remains unclear.
"We cannot say exactly how many there are. We could imagine that maybe 20 people have died, but it could also be 40 or 50 ... We think that these are refugees," added Hans Peter Doskozil, head of the Burgenland Police.
In a report by the Krone newspaper, initial investigation indicated that the refugees died of suffocation.
Pangl also said that the vehicle's cab was found unlocked, showing no signs of the driver. He added that the abandoned truck had license plates from Hungary. The truck is branded with the logo of the Slovakian poultry producer Hyza.
Just drove past truck on A4 in Austria with 50 dead refugees inside. Terrible smell of death as we passed. pic.twitter.com/a2AiDnsy5V
— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) August 27, 2015
According to Hyza spokesman Nicholas Šranko, as told to NBC News, the 7.5-ton truck was one of 21 older vehicles sold to Slovakian companies around 2013 and 2014.
"We are really sorry about the tragedy that happened in Austria - today is a really black day," Šranko said. "Unfortunately we did not remove the branding before we sold the vehicle, but we will be sure to do this in the future."
Šranko also said that their firm is currently working togetherwith Slovakian police in order to track who bought the vehicle in the first place.
The war in Syria has had great contribution to the high number of migrants crossing Europe from Africa and the Middle East this year, reported NBC News. So far, this year saw a record surge of almost 300,000 desperate migrants into Europe crossing via sea. This number reportedly surpassed the 217,000 migrants that arrived the entire 2014.
Up till now, European nations are still divided as to the responsibility they are willing to take for the migrants' safe passage, as well as which nations would be taking them in, according to the Washington Post.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Vienna that she was "shaken by the terrible news that up to 50 people have lost their lives because they ended up in a situation where traffickers did not care about this life."
"This reminds us that we must tackle the issue of immigration quickly and in a European spirit," she added. "That means in a spirit of solidarity - to find solutions."
As of this writing, Austrian officials are conducting an international probe into the truck driver, as well as any witnesses that may lead to more information about the bodies.
Below are images taken by British network Channel 4's Lindsey Hilsum of the truck, showing it branded with the Slovakian poultry producer Hyza logo.
“I knew it was the one because of the terrible smell of death in the air.”Lindsey Hilsum has visited the scene in...
Posted by Channel 4 News on Thursday, August 27, 2015
