EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SALZBURG STATION Salzburg station treats hundreds of refugees on their way to Germany

Record ID: 140538

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SALZBURG STATION Salzburg station treats hundreds of refugees on their way to Germany
  • Date: 1st September 2015
  • Summary: SALZBURG, AUSTRIA (SEPTEMBER 1, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SALZBURG MAIN STATION SIGN AT ENTRANCE FOR THE AUSTRIAN NATIONAL TRAINS VARIOUS OF RED CROSS AND VOLUNTEERS ON STATION PLATFORM WITH TROLLEYS FULL OF WATER AND FOOD TO GIVE TO REFUGEES ARRIVING SIGN FOR SALZBURG MAIN STATION VARIOUS OF TRAIN FROM BUDAPEST ARRIVING AT STATION VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ON PLATFORM AS TRAIN ARRIVES, PEOPLE GETTING OFF TRAIN EXTERIOR OF RED CROSS CLINIC SET UP INSIDE STATION RED CROSS SIGN ENTRANCE TO CLINIC INTERIOR OF CLINIC WITH BEDS SET UP VARIOUS OF STUFFED BEAR ON BED VARIOUS OF RED CROSS WORKERS SITTING AT TABLE BEDS VARIOUS OF MARTIN SIMHOFER FROM THE AUSTRIAN RED CROSS INSIDE CLINIC (SOUNDBITE) (German) MARTIN SIMHOFER, FROM THE AUSTRIAN RED CROSS, SAYING: "1,200 refugees arrived and we had to give medical care to 60 of them. Five of them had to be taken to hospital for examination. There were quite a lot of small children. We were able to care for the families with the small children in their own room. Drinks were handed out from the field kitchen. Apples, and fruit, were also handed out and of course some food, so that they had something to eat." TOWELS VARIOUS OF WATER BOTTLES IN TROLLY (SOUNDBITE) (German) MARTIN SIMHOFER FROM THE AUSTRIAN RED CROSS, SAYING: "We are on alert, in cooperation with the authorities. And I have to say that the cooperation last night was really very good and we were able to work really well together. So we are definitely on alert and and are in contact with the authorities about any further measures." EXTERIOR OF REGIONAL POLICE HEADQUARTERS SIGN FOR POLICE SALZBURG POLICE SPOKESPERSON MICHAEL RAUSCH BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (German) SALZBURG POLICE SPOKESMAN, MICHAEL RAUSCH, SAYING: "From the side of the police, the precautions were taken to make sure that an orderly continuation of the journey could happen, so we made sure that families were able to get into the trains and were not split up. There were a lot of people travelling together. We tried to make sure everything remained calm here and that people were safe." POLICE BADGE RAUSCH DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (German) SALZBURG POLICE SPOKESPERSON MICHAEL RAUSCH, SAYING: "The Salzburg police have increased their presence. We have taken precautions of course that checks are carried out - in the whole state of Salzburg where there are more checks in the area at the border, where we are especially working against people smugglers. There are also checks at places where migrants are picked up, who then also apply for asylum. This means that we are also dealing with the processing of asylum applications. We have three places here in Salzburg which are responsible for the processing of these applications." EXTERIOR OF POLICE HEADQUARTERS
  • Embargoed: 16th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Austria
  • Country: Austria
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAI5UG3CRMM4SWC9POABACC8LO
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Calm returned to Salzburg train station on Tuesday (September 1) after hundreds of refugees who arrived overnight continued their journeys onwards to Germany after receiving medical care and food.
    "1,200 refugees arrived and we had to give medical care to 60 of them. Five of them had to be taken to hospital for examination. There were quite a lot of small children," Martin Simhofer from the Austrian Red Cross told Reuters, adding that many were suffering from exhaustion.
    Trainloads of refugees arrived in Germany and Austria on Monday evening (August 31) on trains travelling from Budapest, after officials there let them board in a move that took German and Austrian officials by surprise.
    As thousands of men, women and children - many fleeing Syria's civil war - continued to arrive from the east, authorities let thousands of undocumented people travel on towards Germany, the favoured destination for many.
    With only a handful of refugees now disembarking in Salzburg on Tuesday, Simhofer said that the situation had calmed but that the Red Cross remained on alert and in contact with police in case further measures were necessary.
    A police spokesman said the situation had been dealt with calmly and they too remained on alert.
    "From the side of the police, the precautions were taken to make sure that an orderly continuation of the journey could happen, so we made sure that families were able to get into the trains and were not split up. There were a lot of people travelling together. We tried to make sure everything remained calm here and that people were safe," police spokesman Michael Rausch said.
    "The Salzburg police have increased their presence. We have taken precautions of course that checks are carried out - in the whole state of Salzburg where there are more checks in the area at the border, where we are especially working against people smugglers," he added.
    Germany, the final destination for many of the migrants who stopped in Salzburg, is struggling to cope with the influx, expecting some 800,000 migrants to arrive this year - almost four times the total for the whole of 2014.
    Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the crisis could destroy the Schengen open borders accord if other EU countries do not take a greater share, and had called for a fairer distribution of refugees around the bloc.
    But it is far from certain her view will prevail when EU ministers hold a crisis meeting on September 14. Britain, which is outside the Schengen zone, says the border-free system is part of the problem, and a bloc of central European countries plans to oppose any binding quotas.
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