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IMMIGRATION

48 refugees caught at Italy-Austria border

A group of 48 Syrian asylum seekers were intercepted on a train from Italy into Tyrol, Austria on Tuesday, Austrian police said.

48 refugees caught at Italy-Austria border
The Syrian asylum seekers were intercepted at the Italy-Austria border. Photo: MPD01605/Flickr

The group, which included ten children, was taken to a Red Cross care center in Plon, police said on Wednesday morning. They are expected to be deported to Italy on the same day.

Under EU rules – the so-called Dublin III regulation – refugees must seek asylum within the EU country which they first entered.

On Monday, the interior ministers of Germany and France asked Italy to respect the regulation, stressing that many migrants are landing in Italy but “headed to northern European countries”.

According to Austrian police, Syrians and other refugees are returned via the Brenner Pass to Italy on a weekly basis.

In July, 21 people were stopped while trying to cross into Austria, while in mid-June French authorities escorted five people off a bus at the Chamonix end of the Mont Blanc tunnel and sent them back to Italy.

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