- 18 Afghans were discovered dead inside a truck.
- Six Bulgarians have been charged with human trafficking.
- The other 34 migrants who were brought to hospitals on Friday are in stable condition.
Six Bulgarians have been charged with human trafficking after 18 Afghans were discovered dead inside a truck dropped on a gravel road near Sofia on Friday.
According to prosecutors, the truck was abandoned near the town of Lokorsko after the driver and his friend discovered that many of the 52 migrants on board were sick, and some had already died. The migrants were hidden in truck compartments that were sealed with foil.
Prosecutors stated the truck driver and his buddy were also charged with the deaths.
After repeated beating on the cabin, the driver refused to stop the truck, according to the head of the National Investigation Agency and deputy chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov.
The killings have stunned Bulgaria, making it one of the worst events of its kind on the Balkans-to-Europe overland route.
Millions of people fleeing violence and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia make the trek, and Bulgaria has had to cope with an upsurge in migration from neighboring Turkey in the last year.
The 18 victims died of a combination of lack of oxygen in an enclosed space and difficulty breathing as they had been crammed into the truck “like in a tin can,” Sarafov said.
“The victims died slowly and painfully,” he added.
According to officials, the other 34 migrants who were brought to hospitals on Friday are in stable condition.
Five of those indicted are in detention, while one of the suspected traffickers, who managed to exit the country, is wanted in Europe.
Authorities claimed the network transported migrants from the Turkish border to Serbia, where they continued their journey mostly to the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
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