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Friday, April 24, 2015

Fourteen migrants killed in Macedonia, hit by train in gorge

By Ognen Teofilovski NEAR VELES, Macedonia (Reuters) - Fourteen migrants were killed when they were struck by a train in a narrow gorge in Macedonia late on Thursday, part of a growing tide of people trying to get to western Europe via the Balkans instead of crossing the treacherous Mediterranean. Local media said the victims were among a group of around 50 migrants following the train tracks through Macedonia to Serbia, having probably crossed through Turkey and Greece en route to Hungary and the European Union's borderless Schengen zone. Macedonia's state prosecutor said that from interviewing survivors it appeared most of the group were from Somalia and Afghanistan. The Western Balkan region is witnessing a sharp rise in the number of migrants using the route to flee war, poverty and repression in the Middle East and Africa.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com