Italian authorities have discovered in the area of Bologna six Afghan migrants who had almost frozen to death, hidden in a refrigerated truck that had disembarked at the central port city of Ancona from Thessaloniki in Greece.
Carabinieri police in the area of Bologna found six Afghan migrants, including a minor, hidden in a refrigerated truck that had travelled to the port of Ancona from Thessaloniki, Greece, investigative sources said on September 21.
The migrants had almost frozen to death and had scabies. One tested positive for COVID-19, the sources added.
Police overheard migrants screams
The police officers intervened at the motorway stop of Stradelli Guelfi in Castel San Pietro after a truck driver called them because he heard screams coming from his vehicle. The driver, a 62-year-old Serbian national who works for a Hungarian firm and transported Feta cheese, got scared after hearing the screams and waited for the police to arrive before opening the truck's boot.
The six migrants were in a state of shock and had screamed to ask for help because they were cold and thirsty. They were taken to the hospital of Imola for treatment, officials said.
Migrants had left Afghanistan a year ago
After being assessed by health officials and by the prefecture of Bologna, five of them (including a minor) were taken to a Center for Identification and Expulsion (CIE) in Bologna while the sixth, who tested positive for COVID-19, was quarantined in a hotel.
According to investigative sources, the group left Afghanistan nearly a year ago to travel to Europe. The Carabinieri police in Imola are probing the case. Investigators believe that the truck driver was unaware of the migrants' presence, investigative sources said.