A tragic discovery near Croatia’s border with Slovenia has underscored the deadly risks faced by migrants travelling along the Balkan route. Croatian police confirmed that four people were found dead and two others were rushed to hospital in serious condition after being transported in what authorities described as “inhumane conditions” inside a truck.
Thirteen additional migrants were located nearby in the village of Donje Prilišće, around 70 kilometres southwest of Zagreb, and were taken to a detention centre. Police said the group had been abandoned at the border by an unidentified smuggler who fled the scene. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of death.
Croatia, a key transit point for irregular migration into the European Union, has seen a rise in dangerous crossings as people attempt to evade increasingly strict border controls. Earlier this year, a Chinese man died when a migrant boat capsized while crossing a river from Bosnia into Croatia. Just last month, 30 people were rescued from a marsh along the same frontier.
According to Frontex, more than 12,500 people used the Balkan route in 2025. Since 2014, over 400 migrants have been reported dead or missing along this corridor, figures from the International Organization for Migration show. The IOM warns that heightened enforcement often pushes migrants into more perilous terrain, increasing the likelihood of tragedy.
The latest incident adds to growing concerns about the human cost of irregular migration and the ruthless tactics of smuggling networks operating across the region.
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