52 victims in Austrian truck migrant tragedy identified

Austrian authorities have so far managed to identify 52 of the 71 migrants who suffocated to death in the back of a truck smuggling people into the country.

The dead were retrieved from the abandoned truck on the motorway in eastern Austria in late August.

The state police in Burgenland said Friday they were continuing work on finding the identities of the remaining deceased, expecting they could identify 10 to 12 more, though acknowledged some bodies may not be able to be identified at all.

Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported that the deceased include men, women, and children, and were from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria, with ages ranging from 10 months to 56 years old.

The authorities said more of the bodies were being identified each week, including through the use of DNA testing conducted using mouth swabs as well as blood drops sent in from potential relatives.

The town of Nickelsdorf has been providing death certificates for the identified deceased. Relatives will be able to pick them up and either bury their family members or transport them home. Those who will not be able to be identified will be laid to rest in a Parndorf cemetery.

The authorities said they would hold a press conference at the conclusion of the case, currently planned for November. Endit