At least 20 decomposing bodies of presumed migrants found in abandoned truck in Austria

Truck in Austria where dead bodies were found
(Image credit: DIETER NAGL/AFP/Getty Images)

The partly decomposing bodies of at least 20 people were found in a truck abandoned on a highway outside of Vienna, The New York Times reports. Officials suspect that as many as 50 bodies might be inside. The victims are assumed to have been migrants who were being smuggled across Europe.

The European Union is staggering under the record influx of migrants, tens of thousands of whom are pouring into the region out of war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa. A conference in Vienna today aims to resolve how to make the Balkans more secure and prosperous, and to somehow remedy the outpouring of people seeking the better economic conditions of Western Europe.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.