The refugees were given blankets by a local charity as well as by the regional office of Sweden’s Migration Agency, which said it was not possible to give them anywhere to sleep indoors, due to a strain on resources.
Jennie Sörman, a spokesperson for the agency in Skåne, described the situation as a “form of chaos” when questioned by regional newspaper Sydsvenskan.
“There is very high pressure right now. We are in a situation where people cannot be offered accommodation after registration.”
Although the Migration Agency has previously greeted up to 1,300 arrivals in a single day, it is under increasing pressure despite the introduction of border controls in Malmö, a major entry point to Sweden.
The controls mean that refugees arriving over the border from Denmark have the choice of either registering for asylum in Sweden, returning to their home countries or turning back if they were planning to use Sweden as a transit country to travel elsewhere.
A police officer monitoring some of the refugees on Thursday. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
The 600 arrivals on Thursday were understood to have entered the country on several trains as well as 12 buses.
Mikael Ribbenvik, chief operating officer at the Swedish Migration Agency, told Sydsvenskan that unaccompanied children and families were being prioritised for housing in Malmö.
READ ALSO: Sweden urges Denmark to implement border checks
Meanwhile Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has released further details about four new tent camps being planned for refugees in Sweden.
They are set to be put up in Gävle in eastern Sweden,Uppsala municipality north of Stockholm, and Flen in central Sweden.
The country’s first planned camp in Lund in southern Sweden has yet to open, following delays linked to various required paperwork and permissions.
Sweden is continuing to take in record numbers of refugees. In October it doubled its refugee forecast for 2015, with up to 190,000 new arrivals expected on Swedish soil over the whole of 2015.
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