Bulgarian police find 18 people dead in abandoned truck

At least 18 people including a child have been found dead in an abandoned truck in Bulgaria, its government says.

The vehicle appeared to have been illegally transporting about 40 migrants. The survivors have been taken to hospital for treatment.

The people in the truck were cold, wet and had not eaten in days, the health minister said.

It is believed to be the deadliest incident involving migrants in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has long struggled to deal with large numbers of people trying to enter the European Union from Turkey.

The truck - found near the village of Lokorsko, 12 miles (20km) north-east of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia - was illegally transporting the migrants hidden under some wood, the interior ministry said.

Health Minister Asen Medzhidiev described the conditions inside the truck: "There has been a lack of oxygen to those who were locked in this truck. They were freezing, wet, they have not eaten for several days."

Fourteen people found alive in the truck, including eight in serious condition, were taken to hospital, he added, while another 10 people were found hiding in nearby and would be taken to hospital for examination.

Police are searching for the human traffickers believed to have driven the truck and fled, officials said.

Bulgaria has faced accusations it is abusing people attempting to enter from Turkey, with asylum seekers saying they have been blocked, arrested, stripped and beaten.