Sunday, 6 September 2015

Asylum seekers arrive in Germany after bus, train journey through Hungary and Austria

Dozens of people rest at tables

PHOTO: Exhausted migrants rested after arriving at the registration point for migrant arrivals at the main station in Munich, Germany. 
Left to walk across the border into Austria, the asylum seekers, many of them fleeing war in Syria, were then whisked by train and shuttle bus to Vienna and then on by train to Munich and other cities in Germany.Austria and Germany have thrown open their borders to thousands of asylum seekers who have been travelling from Hungary after Budapest eased restrictions on their travel.
The last train carrying an estimated 1,000 asylum seekers pulled into Munich from Austria after midnight, bringing the total to have arrived in the Bavarian capital since Saturday to about 8,000.
Clapped and cheered as they disembarked, new arrivals queued at registration tents to be screened, fed and clothed.
Most were set to stay in Munich, although more trains took 800 people to Dortmund and 460 to Frankfurt on Saturday evening.
In Salzburg, the last city before the German border, teams from aid organisations and volunteers rushed to pass warm clothes, shoes and cigarettes through the doors of trains stopped at platforms.
Migrants walk along a railway station platform in ViennaPHOTO: A special train service and buses helped transport migrants from the border to Vienna, Austria.
Munich police said Arabic-speaking interpreters were helping asylum seekers with procedures at the emergency registration centres. The seemingly efficient Austrian and German reception contrasted with the disorder prevalent in Hungary.
"It was just such a horrible situation in Hungary," said Omar, arriving in Vienna with his family.
Another man, who declined to be named, said: "Hungary should be fired from the European Union. Such bad treatment."Warning: This story contains an image that may distress some readers.
In Budapest, almost emptied of asylum seekers the night before, the main railway station was again filling up with new arrivals, a seemingly unrelenting human surge northwards through the Balkan peninsula from Turkey and Greece.
But with trains to western Europe cancelled, hundreds set off by foot, saying they would walk to the Austrian border, 170 kilometres away, like others had tried on Friday.
Hungary said it would no longer provide buses to take them to the border. By contrast, Austrian state railway company OeBB said it had added 4,600 seats for migrants by extending trains and laying on special non-scheduled services.
Austria said it had agreed with Germany that it would allow the migrants access, waiving asylum rules that require them to register in the first EU state they reach.
Police help children and mothers to board a train in Nickelsdorf, AustriaPHOTO: Austrian policemen were required to help children and mothers board their train in Nickelsdorf, Austria. 

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