41 migrants found alive in refrigerated truck in northern Greece

Police and emergency services take care of 41 migrants, who were found alive in a refrigerated truck near Xanthi, northern Greece. Pic/AFP

Thessaloniki: 41 migrants were found alive in the back of a refrigerated truck after it was intercepted during a routine check on a highway in northern Greece on Monday, police said.

The refrigeration system had not been turned on and the migrants were uninjured, Theodoros Hronopoulos, a police spokesman, told CNN.

A few migrants were taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary reasons, while the rest were taken directly to a nearby police station for identification. Police have arrested the truck driver.

The incident has come days after bodies of 39 migrants were found from inside a truck at an industrial park in Grays, a town located 40 kilometres east of London, UK. Five suspects, including the truck driver, were arrested in connection with the incident, and three were later released on bail.

The migrants were initially believed to be Chinese nationals, but a number of Vietnamese families later came forward with reports of missing family members, expressing concern their relatives might be among the dead.

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