Police said today that the accident occurred at around 10:30 pm (local time) last night near the central Macedonian town of Veles, as the migrants followed the tracks to head north. The train was an express passenger train travelling from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to the Serbian capital of Belgrade.
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees attempt to reach the more prosperous central and western European countries by heading from Turkey to nearby Greek islands, then either try to sneak onto Italy-bound ferries, or head overland through Macedonia.