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Two of the three survivors among the illegal migrants who drowned in the Morava river between Slovakia and the Czech Republic on Wednesday have said they are Indians. The third survivor claimed he was Sri Lankan.
However, no travel documents to authenticate their claims were available to Indian officials who met them, government officials said in New Delhi.
Consular officials from Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, rushed to the spot and met the survivors. "One is believed to be from Sri Lanka. The other two said they are from India," an official spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs said.
She said the two who said they were Indians identified themselves as Suresh Paul and Jasbir Singh. They also told the consular officials that they were a group of 20.
The body of one person was recovered from the Morava river. There is no definite information about the other 16.
The group were trying to cross over to the West without proper travel documents.
Morava river is a major transit point for illegal migrants to the West. The river divides Slovakia from the Czech Republic.
A senior official in the ministry of external affairs said Slovakia of late had become a key transit point for "illegal migrants from the Third World. From there the migrants cross either Morava or the Danube river, which is the border between Slovakia and Austria. .
According to reports filed by the Indian embassy in Slovakia, the neighbouring police post was alerted about the tragedy when they heard screams from the river. By the time police reached the spot, most had drowned.
The survivors said their final destination was Germany.
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