33 illegal migrants were detained late on Saturday evening by the Border Police at the entrance to Burgas. The foreigners were found extremely exhausted after surviving in the forest for days, eating grass and drinking water from the swamps. Four of them were rushed to hospital.
The group was transported in a yellow minibus with Sofia registration. The vehicle was stopped for inspection shortly before 10:00 p.m. at the checkpoint near the “Kraymorie” neighborhood. The speed limit in this section is 30 km/h, which allows border police to carry out strict visual and physical control. The checkpoint was built in 2022 after the tragic incident in which two Burgas police officers died while trying to stop a bus with migrants. It is assumed that the driver of the minibus was also inside with the group, NOVA reports.
The foreigners, who identified themselves as Afghans, were in extremely poor physical condition. They told investigators that they had been in the forest for between 8 and 10 days while waiting for the trafficker to pick them up. In the last three days, they had absolutely no food. They had to eat fruit and even grass to survive. Due to thirst, they drank dirty water from swamps and rivers.
Due to severe exhaustion, four young people were placed in the shock room of the Burgas University Hospital.
„Four people were brought to us. Their condition is absolutely stable, there is nothing to worry about. They haven't eaten for 3 days. We are currently putting them on systems because of dehydration, we even gave them some food. When we were doing the tests, I explained again that their condition is stable, even though they drank dirty water from the swamp a few days ago”, explained the doctor on duty, Dr. Murat Çoban.
He added that the youngest patient is 16 years old, and the others are between 22 and 25 years old. Since the young people speak Arabic, the medics had to call an interpreter.
The remaining detained migrants were transported on Saturday evening to the temporary accommodation center for refugees, which is located a few kilometers from the checkpoint.