EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GERMANY-INTERIOR MINISTER German interior minister "shocked and angered" by refugee deaths in lorry in Austria

Record ID: 142278

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GERMANY-INTERIOR MINISTER German interior minister "shocked and angered" by refugee deaths in lorry in Austria
  • Date: 27th August 2015
  • Summary: NUREMBERG, GERMANY (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF FEDERAL OFFICE FOR MIGRATION AND REFUGEES SIGN READING (German): "EXTERIOR OF FEDERAL OFFICE FOR MIGRATION AND REFUGEES" GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER THOMAS DE MAIZIERE ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CAMERAS / DE MAIZIERE SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "I am deeply shocked and angered that many people are suffocating to death because criminal people-smugglers are making money transporting them in such unacceptable conditions." CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "We must now apprehend the perpetrators and we will help the Austrian authorities with this if we can. We must also strengthen the fight against smugglers and all those involved, as we have agreed to do within the European Union. This case shows how urgently we need to implement the decision taken by European leaders, my colleagues and I to set up so-called "hotspots" -- large reception centres in Italy and Greece." DE MAIZIERE SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "My Austrian colleague has announced tighter checks, which I consider to be the right step. The people who are squeezing 20 to 30 people, including pregnant women and small children, into vehicles designed for 8 to 10 people, are criminals." VARIOUS OF DE MAIZIERE SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "The number of attacks against asylum seekers and asylum seeker centres in the first half of this year was higher than the number over the whole of last year. We have also seen a new level of aggressive language. Of course this is something we are all deeply worried about. We must combat this with the full force of the law when crimes are committed and we must oppose these people in political debate as vigilant, proud democrats." CAMERAS DE MAIZIERE LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8VBUWKUU18A68ZZJTRI1T138K
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Germany's interior minister on Thursday (August 27) expressed his shock and anger after as many as 50 refugees were found dead in a lorry in Austria close to the Hungarian border.
    "I am deeply shocked and angered that many people are suffocating to death because criminal people-smugglers are making money transporting them in such unacceptable conditions," Thomas de Maiziere told reporters at the German Office for Migration and Refugees in Nuremberg.
    Austrian police said they made the grisly discovery in a 7.5-tonne lorry stopped on the A4 motorway near the town of Parndorf, apparently since Wednesday (August 26). They could not put an exact figure on the number of victims, whose bodies had begun to decompose.
    De Maiziere said the European Union needed to clamp down on people-smugglers transporting refugees, including pregnant women and children, in undignified and dangerous conditions, adding that more needed to be done to support the countries on the front line of the crisis at the EU's borders.
    "This case shows how urgently we need to implement the decision taken by European leaders, my colleagues and I to set up so-called "hotspots" -- large reception centres in Italy and Greece," he said.
    Tensions have been rising in Germany with a spate of anti-refugee protests erupting into violence as well as attacks on asylum seeker shelters.
    "The number of attacks against asylum seekers and asylum seeker centres in the first half of this year was higher than the number over the whole of last year. We have also seen a new level of aggressive language. Of course this is something we are all deeply worried about. We must combat this with the full force of the law when crimes are committed and we must oppose these people in political debate as vigilant, proud democrats," de Maiziere said.
    Tens of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have put to sea this year in the hope of reaching Europe, often dangerously packed into small vessels that were never designed to cross the Mediterranean.
    Those who make it ashore and others travelling by land have increasingly tried to make their way north via the Balkans, causing tension among countries along the route.
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