Lithuanian police on Thursday morning discovered the bodies of two people in a forest near the settlement of Rushtenai in the Vilkaviškis district. No signs of violence were found. The deceased, a man and a woman, were estimated to be 30–35 years old. Eight migrants, including one woman, were detained at the scene. They had no documents.
According to BNS, citing police, two people were hospitalised, while six were handed over to border guards.
The circumstances of the incident are being established. A pre-trial investigation has been launched to determine the cause of death.
The site is located about 10 km from the Lithuania–Poland border. The State Border Guard Service suggested that the migrants may have been brought to Lithuania from Latvia. They were then reportedly dropped off and instructed to cross the Lithuanian–Polish border on foot. On the Polish side, another smuggler was likely expected to meet them.
Those detained identified themselves as citizens of Ethiopia, Algeria, Yemen and Eritrea.
The foreigners will be placed in a registration centre and are then expected to be transferred to the Latvian side.
According to border guards, around 500 foreigners have already been detained this year after arriving in Lithuania from Latvia, where they had likely crossed the border from Belarus.
