Night train kills 14 migrants on Macedonia tracks

VELES, Macedonia — A group of migrants trying to reach European opportunity via what’s billed by smugglers as a “safe” route — trekking along train tracks through the Balkans — was hit by an overnight train in a remote river gorge in Macedonia, killing 14.

The deaths of the undocumented migrants from Africa and Asia underscore how, even as tens of thousands risk drowning in the Mediterranean to reach European shores, many others gamble with their lives by taking perilous overland journeys to reach Hungary, a popular back door to the 28-nation European Union.

Railway officials said many of those killed Thursday night had stopped to rest after an exhausting hourslong hike and were sleeping on the tracks when the train plowed into them.

The overland route from Greece through Macedonia and Serbia has soared in popularity over the past two years as migrants seek a less dangerous path than the sea crossing from North Africa to Italy.

Trains killed 40 migrants last year, usually in groups of one or two, compared to the more than 1,300 lives lost in the Mediterranean over the past three weeks alone — a horrifying statistic that has put 2015 on track to be the deadliest year ever for the sea crossing.

The Balkans smuggling route follows railway lines through most of the 125-mile hike through Macedonia, and authorities say it was only a question of time before so many trekkers would die in a single train accident.

The rail line includes narrow wooden bridges and two long tunnels through mountains that can leave migrants trapped with no way of escape, as well as frequent riverside bends that conceal the sight and sounds of oncoming trains.

Thursday’s accident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on a narrow stretch of tracks sandwiched between the Vardar River and a steep slope. The express train from Thessaloniki, Greece, to the Serbian capital of Belgrade was about six miles (10 miles) northwest of the central Macedonian town of Veles when the train’s engineer spotted a group of about 100 migrants on the tracks in the dark, 100 yards ahead.

“At the time that the train struck the group of migrants, they were resting and sleeping on the tracks,” said Macedonian Railways manager Nikola Kostov. “The train driver honked and tried to stop, but it was too late and the train hit the group of migrants who weren’t able to leave the tracks.”

Kostov said the train was observing the local speed limit and described the stretch of track as “dangerous and unapproachable” for pedestrians.

Though Kostov did not give a precise speed, the schedule shows that the train does not typically travel quickly, taking more than 14 hours to cover 400 miles, averaging just 28 mph.

Authorities said the 14 dead appeared to be mostly Somalis and Afghans in their 20s, though other details remained uncertain — not surprising, given that migrants often travel without IDs to complicate deportation efforts if caught. Somalis and Afghans are among the top nationalities using the Balkans route, along with Syrians fleeing civil war in their homeland.

Police detained nine migrants who remained at the scene Friday morning and questioned them about what happened and the identities of the dead. They said survivors described clambering up rocky slopes or clinging to bushes on the riverbank to escape the train.

The Veles prosecutor, Slavica Temelkovski, said the detained migrants were mostly relatives or friends of the dead and had identified themselves and the victims as being from Somalia and Afghanistan.

Tentative plans were put in place to bury the dead Saturday at Veles’ Muslim cemetery on the presumption that, barring authentication to the contrary, all came from predominantly Muslim countries.

“This city is in disbelief,” said Veles Mayor Slavco Cadiev. He said Veles residents over the past year had grown used to seeing hundreds of migrants pass through the town at once, usually sticking close to the rail lines.

Veterans of the Balkans route have told The Associated Press that following the train tracks in Macedonia is one of the most nerve-racking parts of what can be a monthslong journey involving detentions and deportations back to Greece to start the journey over.

Smugglers usually instruct migrants to travel the tracks at night, despite the increased risk of being hit by trains, because they are less likely to be spotted by authorities in the darkness.

For many, the Balkans route starts in Turkey, where migrants pack into small boats that are often piloted by migrants themselves and abandoned once they reach the nearest Greek island. That journey, because of overcrowding and the inexperience of boat operators, is often the most dangerous part of the journey — a reality underscored this week when a wooden trawler carrying about 90 migrants broke up as it ran aground on the Greek island of Rhodes, killing three on board, including a boy.

Since February, the AP has followed a group of 45 West African migrants using the Balkans route. As they gathered at the Macedonian border in March, a smuggler warned they could easily be killed by a train if they didn’t break up into small groups with a spotter at the front and the back, to shout alerts to the others.

When walking at night on the tracks, migrants say, it can be hard to distinguish the wooden ties from stony gaps, never mind tell where the river is and how steep the falls might be on either side. Painful dives and tumbles into mud or gravel to avoid trains are common.

“When trains come, they don’t honk. It’s woods. There’s nobody there,” said Hamed Kouyate, an 18-year-old from Ivory Coast who completed the Balkans route this month after a two-week trek, a brief police detention and other setbacks.

Kouyate said all members of his group struggled to see in the often moonless night and many suffered injuries from falls. He said they often were slow to react to trains because of mental and physical exhaustion. At one point, he said, one woman with an injured foot had to be pushed by others out of the way of an oncoming train.

“When you’re on the tracks, you’re afraid all the time,” he said in a telephone interview from France, where he arrived this week.

“You’re afraid because from one minute to the next, there might be a train.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.