A group of 14 Turks of Kurdish origin have been detained after the group, made up mostly of children, was discovered exhausted, wet and suffering from hypothermia in the Tatra mountains after crossing the border.
Nine of the group were children aged five through 15. Authorities learned that they had walked for nine days and crossed the Polish border in the Tatra mountains one night over the weekend.
A police patrol helped protect them from the rain and the cold in heated vehicles. They were then provided with dry clothes, thermal blankets and food. A 5-year-old child was taken to the hospital.
The family was first spotted in a valley of the Tatra mountains by locals in the area who informed the police patrol.
Tourists in the area also came to the aid of the migrants with hot drinks and food. The police established the identity of the migrants and took them to Zakopane.
All of the Kurds detained had Turkish passports. They had been walking from southern Europe, moving north for nine days.
The matter is now being investigated by the Border Guard. The Kurds will most likely be handed over to neighboring Slovakia, from which they came directly to Poland.
