Bulgaria police find 18 migrants dead in abandoned truck

At least 18 people were found dead in Bulgaria in an abandoned truck near the capital Sofia, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry said on Friday.

"According to initial information, the truck was transporting illegal migrants – a total of about 40 people, who were hiding... under transported timber," the ministry said.

The survivors were taken to hospital for medical treatment, it said.

Eight of the people rushed to hospital were in grave condition, Bulgaria's health emergency centre told state news agency BTA.

Police were seeking to identify the truck's drivers, who had fled, the statement said.