Major disruption broke out when Czech police near Veltrus stopped a truck containing around 30 migrants on the night of Monday, September 2nd. One female passenger was reported dead at the scene, despite emergency attempts to revive her. All other passengers were detained.
The incident highlights a potential crisis for the Czech authorities, caused by the growing pressure of illegal migration to and through the landlocked central European state.
Law enforcement activity on the D8 highway made it impassable for about 30 minutes, with all exits eventually reopening overnight. Initially, some of the migrants attempted to escape capture, but police reported that there were no absconders—as confirmed by an infra-red camera search from a helicopter:
All persons are now restricted in their personal freedom, the search of the surroundings is purely preventive and we have no information that anyone managed to escape.
Many of those detained were reported to be in ill health.
The Czech Republic is rarely a destination country for migrants, whose ultimate aim is to settle in wealthier European states, such as Germany. Unlike its three allies in the Visegrád group of nations, the Czech Republic is seldom directly involved in defending the borders of the European Union, but the migration crisis nevertheless presents a challenge.
Indicating the type of difficulties now faced by central Europe, last May Czech police scrambled to find Amharic interpreters after nine illegal migrants from Eritrea and Ethiopia were detained in Brno after crossing the border from neighbouring Slovakia.
