Approximately 40 migrants were “illegally transported in the vehicle, hidden under some wood,” the interior ministry said. Eighteen of them were found dead at the time the truck was located by Bulgarian authorities.
This is likely the deadliest case of human smuggling in the country’s history.
Bulgarian citizens notified the police, who found the truck about 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of the capital Sofia.
No definitive cause of death for the migrants has been determined.
“I can’t say for sure what happened. There was a lack of oxygen, they were cold and wet, and they certainly had not eaten for a few days,” Health Minister Asen Medjidiev told journalists.
The fourteen people who were found alive in the truck, eight of whom were in critical condition, were taken to the hospital, he said.
According to Medjidiev, ten more people were located hiding in nearby bushes and will be evaluated at a local hospital.
Everyone in the truck is assumed to be Afghan men, reports BNR, a public radio station.
Numerous ambulances were seen by an AFP photographer as they departed the scene.
Authorities said a search was underway for the smugglers they believe were behind the wheel of the truck when it was stolen.
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