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Hungary detains 5th suspect in deaths of 71 migrants in truck in Austria

Forensic officers stand in front of a truck inside which were found a large number of dead migrants on a motorway near Neusiedl am See, Austria, on August 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO / DIETER NAGL

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungarian police say they have detained a fifth man suspected of being involved in the deaths of 71 migrants found in a truck in neighbouring Austria.

A national police statement said the Bulgarian national was arrested on Saturday evening. Police said Sunday they will seek to have him held in custody on suspicion of human trafficking.

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READ MORE: 4 arrested in Hungary after 71 dead migrants found in truck in Austria

On Saturday, a court in the central city of Kecskemet – from where prosecutors say the truck departed – placed four other suspects under preliminary arrest pending possible indictment.

READ MORE: The European migrant crisis is only getting worse. Here’s what you need to know

Those men, three Bulgarians and an Afghan, were arrested Thursday in southern Hungary. The truck with the dead migrants was found earlier that day parked along the Budapest-to-Vienna highway.

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Austrian experts are performing autopsies on the victims: 59 men, eight women and four children.

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