ZAGREB: Four migrants were found dead near the Slovenian border and two others were taken to hospital in a serious condition after being transported by truck in “inhumane conditions”, Croatian police said on Monday.

Thirteen other people were also found by police near the Croatian village of Donje Prilisce, 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest of the capital Zagreb and had been taken to a detention centre.

Police said the group we­­­re allegedly dropped at the border by an unknown smuggler who fled. There was no detail provided on the cause of death, but inv­e­­st­­igations were underway.

Croatia, a member of the European Union, is a major transit country for irregular migrants seeking to reach Europe via the Balkan route. Earlier this year, a Chinese man died after a migrant boat capsized while crossing a river from Bosnia into Croatia.

Last month, 30 people were also rescued from a marsh on the same border. More than 12,500 people used the Balkan route in 2025, according to data from the European border agency, Frontex.

Since 2014, more than 400 people have been repo­rted dead or missing while attempting this passage, according to the Interna­tional Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2026