This archive report was first published on 31 October 2019.
Belgian authorities made a shocking discovery on October 30, 2019, when they found 12 migrants alive in a refrigerated truck on a road linking Antwerp to Brussels.
The migrants, 11 Syrians and a Sudanese man, were in good health and were discovered after the truck's driver suspected he had stowaways in the back.
The driver contacted the police, who directed him to pull over into a highway parking area, where the migrants were found.
A police investigation has been launched to determine how the migrants got on board and whether they were seeking to reach Britain.
The discovery comes as British police investigate the deaths of 39 people found in another refrigerated truck near London a week earlier.
Several Vietnamese families fear their relatives were among the victims in the London case, as the trailer they were in had transited through Belgium.
Migrants and people-smugglers often use Belgium as a transit point to reach Britain, with many attempting to sneak aboard trucks stopped in parking areas.
Just last weekend, Belgian authorities found two more trucks carrying 20 migrants, all of whom were alive.
