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7,000 asylum seekers pass through Vienna by train within 24 hours

Xinhua, September 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

About 7,000 asylum seekers passed through the Austrian capital Vienna in the 24 hours from Monday to Tuesday morning, Austrian police authorities said Tuesday.

Police spokesperson Gerald Pangl told the APA in an interview that in accordance with its arrangement with the Interior Ministry, it has not been conducting inspections on passengers on the trains coming from Hungary, allowing them to travel unhindered.

He added that if and when these inspections will take place again is unknown yet.

It was also reported that Hungary has at least for the most part not prevented the onward travel of the asylum seekers through its own territory.

Austrian police are however maintaining their efforts to catch people smugglers on roads.

Only 66 of the 7,000 asylum seekers were said to have made an asylum application within Austria, with the vast majority continuing onward to Germany.

Their numbers are reportedly fluctuating highly. "There are constantly trains with more asylum seekers coming, and constantly others departing again," said police spokesperson Patrick Maierhofer. Endi