By — News Desk News Desk Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/thousands-migrants-reach-austria-uk-calls-comprehensive-plan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Photos: Thousands of migrants reach Austria as European officials call for comprehensive plan World Sep 5, 2015 3:35 PM EDT After days of being held back, at least 6,500 migrants crossed from Hungary into neighboring Austria on Saturday, with several thousand continuing West, hoping to reach Munich, Germany. Hundreds more, who did not board the Hungarian buses and trains, began walking the 100 miles from Budapest toward Vienna. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that every asylum seeker entering Germany will get a fair hearing, and pledged there would be no cap on the number the country will accept. “The right to political asylum has no limits on the number of asylum seekers,” Merkel told reporters. “As a strong, economically healthy country we have the strength to do what is necessary.” British finance minister George Osborne said Saturday that a comprehensive plan was necessary to stem the migrant crisis, and that any long-term solution would need to deal with the root cause of the problem, Reuters reported. “You’ve got to deal with the problem at source, which is this evil Assad regime and the ISIL (Islamic State) terrorists, and you need a comprehensive plan for a more stable, peaceful Syria,” Osborne told Reuters. “A huge challenge of course, but you can’t just let that crisis fester. We’ve got to get engaged in that.” Migrants walk down the street from Keleti train station in Budapest, Hungary, September 5, 2015. Hungary sent thousands of migrants to the Austrian border by bus overnight, including those who were walking on the motorway, but said this was a one-off and there would be no further transports. Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Migrants stand next to police on a platform after arriving at a railway station in Vienna, Austria September 5, 2015. Left to walk the last yards into Austria, rain-soaked migrants, many of them refugees from Syria’s civil war, were whisked by train and shuttle bus to Vienna, where many said they were resolved to continue on to Germany. Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters A son of a migrant from Syria sits in a train to Gyor, Hungary, September 5, 2015. Austria and Germany threw open their borders to thousands of exhausted migrants on Saturday, bussed to the Hungarian border by a right-wing government that had tried to stop them but was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers reaching Europe’s frontiers. Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Rubi, 7, from Kobani, Syria walks along a railway track after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters A group of migrants who said they were from Kobani, Syria, rest after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters A migrant carries a child after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — News Desk News Desk
After days of being held back, at least 6,500 migrants crossed from Hungary into neighboring Austria on Saturday, with several thousand continuing West, hoping to reach Munich, Germany. Hundreds more, who did not board the Hungarian buses and trains, began walking the 100 miles from Budapest toward Vienna. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that every asylum seeker entering Germany will get a fair hearing, and pledged there would be no cap on the number the country will accept. “The right to political asylum has no limits on the number of asylum seekers,” Merkel told reporters. “As a strong, economically healthy country we have the strength to do what is necessary.” British finance minister George Osborne said Saturday that a comprehensive plan was necessary to stem the migrant crisis, and that any long-term solution would need to deal with the root cause of the problem, Reuters reported. “You’ve got to deal with the problem at source, which is this evil Assad regime and the ISIL (Islamic State) terrorists, and you need a comprehensive plan for a more stable, peaceful Syria,” Osborne told Reuters. “A huge challenge of course, but you can’t just let that crisis fester. We’ve got to get engaged in that.” Migrants walk down the street from Keleti train station in Budapest, Hungary, September 5, 2015. Hungary sent thousands of migrants to the Austrian border by bus overnight, including those who were walking on the motorway, but said this was a one-off and there would be no further transports. Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Migrants stand next to police on a platform after arriving at a railway station in Vienna, Austria September 5, 2015. Left to walk the last yards into Austria, rain-soaked migrants, many of them refugees from Syria’s civil war, were whisked by train and shuttle bus to Vienna, where many said they were resolved to continue on to Germany. Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters A son of a migrant from Syria sits in a train to Gyor, Hungary, September 5, 2015. Austria and Germany threw open their borders to thousands of exhausted migrants on Saturday, bussed to the Hungarian border by a right-wing government that had tried to stop them but was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers reaching Europe’s frontiers. Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Rubi, 7, from Kobani, Syria walks along a railway track after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters A group of migrants who said they were from Kobani, Syria, rest after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters A migrant carries a child after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia near the village of Roszke September 5, 2015. Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now