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| Three children rescued from van near German border resume journey | Three children rescued from van near German border resume journey |
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| Three children who had been recovering in hospital after being found in the back of a van in Austria have been taken by their parents to continue the journey to Germany. | Three children who had been recovering in hospital after being found in the back of a van in Austria have been taken by their parents to continue the journey to Germany. |
| The children were admitted to hospital with severe dehydration after being found in the back of a van with 26 people believed to be from Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The vehicle was stopped close to the German border in the small town of St Peter am Hart. | The children were admitted to hospital with severe dehydration after being found in the back of a van with 26 people believed to be from Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The vehicle was stopped close to the German border in the small town of St Peter am Hart. |
| Police spokesman David Furtner said the parents had taken the children in secret, but he added that they had received medical care and were in a stable condition. | Police spokesman David Furtner said the parents had taken the children in secret, but he added that they had received medical care and were in a stable condition. |
| Related: Migration crisis: Germany, France and Britain demand urgent EU meeting | Related: Migration crisis: Germany, France and Britain demand urgent EU meeting |
| “They decided to go in the direction of Germany. They didn’t want to stay in Austria,” he told the Guardian. “If they had stayed, we would have taken them for interviews and asked where they came from, where they want to go [and about] the smuggler … with the possible result that we would have had to send them back to Hungary,” he said. | “They decided to go in the direction of Germany. They didn’t want to stay in Austria,” he told the Guardian. “If they had stayed, we would have taken them for interviews and asked where they came from, where they want to go [and about] the smuggler … with the possible result that we would have had to send them back to Hungary,” he said. |
| Erwin Windischbauer, chief executive of the St Josef Braunau hospital in Braunau, said the children should have stayed in hospital for another few days, but that it was not a problem they had left before being officially discharged. | Erwin Windischbauer, chief executive of the St Josef Braunau hospital in Braunau, said the children should have stayed in hospital for another few days, but that it was not a problem they had left before being officially discharged. |
| “They were on the way to recovery,” he said. “It would have been even better for them to stay … but they were not in a life-threatening condition.” | “They were on the way to recovery,” he said. “It would have been even better for them to stay … but they were not in a life-threatening condition.” |
| The 29-year-old Romanian driver of the van was arrested and is in custody. | The 29-year-old Romanian driver of the van was arrested and is in custody. |
| The discovery of the three children came a day after Austrian police said 71 people had died in a refrigerated chicken lorry dumped on the hard shoulder of the A4 motorway. Hungarian police said on a Sunday that a fifth man, a Bulgarian citizen, had been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. | |
| Three Bulgarians and one Afghan citizen were already under arrest pending an investigation in Hungary. They face up to 16 years in prison for trafficking in Hungary and murder charges in Austria. | Three Bulgarians and one Afghan citizen were already under arrest pending an investigation in Hungary. They face up to 16 years in prison for trafficking in Hungary and murder charges in Austria. |
| Alexandra Hareter, a spokeswoman for the police in the Burgenland province, said autopsies had been performed on 16 of the bodies, but that it had not been concluded that the people had suffocated. | |
| She said investigators were working with possible family members of those who had died. They were also working with hair and blood samples and the mobile phones of the victims to try to establish their identities. | |
| “We have received calls from Syrian and Afghan citizens, but we can’t yet say from which countries the people came from … and a Syrian travel document was found,” she said. “But it’s important that the autopsies are first conducted and then we will work on establishing their identities.” | |
| While under Austrian law the bodies would normally have to be sent back to Parndorf, close to where the lorry was found, for burial arrangements, Hareter said any such action would first have to be discussed with the families. The Islamic community in Austria said that it would assist with burials according to Islamic rites. | |
| Both groups of migrants almost certainly took the same route through the western Balkans, via Turkey, Greece and Macedonia, as thousands of others have done. | Both groups of migrants almost certainly took the same route through the western Balkans, via Turkey, Greece and Macedonia, as thousands of others have done. |
| Police who found the three children said medical staff believed they would not have survived much longer. “It was a very close call,” said Furtner. “The driver did not give a damn about the people in the back. We would not transport animals under these conditions on our roads in Austria.” | Police who found the three children said medical staff believed they would not have survived much longer. “It was a very close call,” said Furtner. “The driver did not give a damn about the people in the back. We would not transport animals under these conditions on our roads in Austria.” |
| Pope Francis on Sunday invited the faithful in St Peter’s Square to pray silently with him for those who die “on their terrible journeys” to Europe. | Pope Francis on Sunday invited the faithful in St Peter’s Square to pray silently with him for those who die “on their terrible journeys” to Europe. |