Police find 41 people alive in truck in Greece

Greek police found 41 migrants, mostly Afghans, hiding in a refrigerated truck at a motorway in northern Greece on Monday, police officials said.

The discovery came 10 days after 39 bodies, all believed to be Vietnamese migrants, were discovered in the back of a refrigerated truck near London. Two people have been charged in Britain and eight in Vietnam over the deaths.

The migrants were not injured, one of the officials said, adding that the refrigeration system had not been turned on. Some migrants did ask for medical assistance, a Greek police official said.

Greek police stopped the truck on a highway near the northern Greek city of Xanthi for a regular check. They arrested the driver and took him and the migrants to a nearby police station for identification.

Greece is struggling with the biggest resurgence in refugee arrivals since 2015, when more than a million people crossed into Europe from Turkey via Greece.

Most of them are reaching Greek Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast via boats but a large number also come overland, using a river border crossing with Turkey.

About 34,000 asylum seekers and refugees are being held in camps on the Aegean islands close to Turkey.

Road accidents, mainly in northern Greece, involving migrants trying to cross into other countries have become more frequent in recent years. Police have arrested dozens of people believed to be involved in human trafficking so far in 2019.