MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Decomposed human remains found in a fertilizer container in Paraguay

The container had travelled through Croatia, thought to be the migrants' planned destination, before going through Egypt, Spain, Argentina en route to Paraguay.

The decomposed remains of seven people, believed to be undocumented migrants, have been discovered in a fertilizer container in Paraguay, officials said. It set off from Serbia on 21 July.

The container had travelled through Croatia - thought to be the migrants' planned destination - before going through Egypt, Spain and Argentina en route to Paraguay.

Three of the seven were from Morocco and one was from Egypt, forensic doctor Pablo Lemir said.

The discovery was made by employees of an agricultural company in Paraguay's capital, Asuncion.

Asphyxiation was the likely cause of death, Dr Lemir said, adding that all of the victims are believed to be male adults.

The fertilizer could have led to a faster process of decomposition, he added.

A Serbian taxi receipt and telephone card were discovered in the container, along with food.

“We assume that they arrived there from their country of origin and had planned to travel to a nearer destination but they did not calculate the distance well and did not survive the trip,” prosecutor Marcelo Saldivar said in Asunción.

Their supply of biscuits, bottled water and tinned food was enough to last 72 hours, he said. “All the bodies are decomposed. They are just hair and bones,” he said.
Efforts are now underway to try to identify the victims.