News Digest

Thousands of migrants taken by bus to Austria after Hungary backs down

Thousands of migrants and refugees have entered Austria from Hungary, with many believed to be on their way to Germany. Exhausted families, among them refugees from Syria, began trickling across the border on foot and arriving on buses overnight. Around four thousand are said to have arrived at the Austrian border so far with authorities saying they expect the number to double. German police said they are expecting 10,000 refugees to arrive there on Saturday, having made their way through Austria from Hungary.

We are very happy that something is happening at last. The next stop is Austria. The children are very tired, Hungary is very bad, we have to go somehow.

23-year-old Osama, from Syria

Last night, refugees and migrants at Budapest railway station began boarding 100 buses bound for Austrian 84 miles (135km) away while around 1,000 people that left earlier continued to make the journey on foot. One man, a 51-year-old Pakistani, collapsed about 800 metres from the station and died despite efforts to save him. Others remain in Hungary, unable to get tickets for onward travel or while waiting to see if they can get on a bus. One 23-year-old man leaving Budapest on foot said he expected to arrive in Austria within three days. Osama Morzar from Syria said he removed his fingerprints with acid so he couldn’t be registered in Hungary, holding up smooth fingers as evidence.