EUROPE-MIGRANTS/AUSTRIA VIGIL Evening vigil held in Budapest for dead truck migrants

Record ID: 142144

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/AUSTRIA VIGIL Evening vigil held in Budapest for dead truck migrants
  • Date: 28th August 2015
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERING AT EASTERN RAILWAY STATION TO LIGHT CANDLES IN MEMORY OF MIGRANTS WHO DIED IN TRUCK VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LIGHTING CANDLES SIGN AMONGST CANDLES SAYING (English): 'EUROPE YOUR HAND IS COVERED WITH BLOOD' MIGRANTS LIGHTING CANDLES LOTS OF CANDLES (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) BUDAPEST RESIDENT, CSABA POGONYI, SAYING: "It is horrific. There are no words to describe how horrific it is. There are so many who are responsible for this that it would be too long to list. I think from this tragedy we should take notice at last that it is not only in the Mediterranean sea where ships sink and hundreds die but also here in Hungary the same dangers threaten these people in cars and lorries. They are just as human as we are, a Hungarian equals the same as a Syrian refugee and if we do not want this to happen to either of us then we must do something against this." VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS PRAYING BY CANDLES CANDLES ON THE STEPS
  • Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hungary
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8WP6YTKTC934LXV37MNB3UHID
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Residents of Budapest and migrants camping around the Eastern railway station lit candles on Friday (August 28) evening in memory of those migrants or refugees who died in a truck discovered near the Hungarian border.
    Four children, including a baby girl, were among the 71 dead and several people have been arrested in Hungary in connection with the tragedy, Austrian police said.
    An Austrian motorway patrol discovered the abandoned truck near the Hungarian border on Thursday (August 27), probably at least 24 hours after it had been parked there.
    The migrants appeared to have been dead for up to two days and fluids from the decomposing bodies were seeping from its door.
    "It is horrific. There are no words to describe how horrific it is. There are so many who are responsible for this that it would be too long to list. I think from this tragedy we should take notice at last that it is not only in the Mediterranean sea where ships sink and hundreds die but also here in Hungary the same dangers threaten these people in cars and lorries. They are just as human as we are, a Hungarian equals the same as a Syrian refugee and if we do not want this to happen to either of us then we must do something against this," said Budapest resident, Csaba Pogonyi.
    Late into the evening, migrants gathered again around the candles and prayed.
    They called for the Hungarian authorities to let them travel onto western Europe.
    About 100,000 migrants, many of them from Syria and other conflict zones in the Middle East, have taken the Balkan route into Europe this year, heading via Serbia for Hungary and Europe's Schengen zone of passport-free travel. Most then move onto richer countries such as Austria and Germany.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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