Three children found in critical condition on refugee lorry: Reports

Three young children were found in critical condition due to dehydration on Friday after police in Austria stopped a truck with 26 refugees, Austrian news agency APA reported on Saturday.

The lorry with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh crammed in the back was stopped in the small town of St. Peter am Hart, close to the German border, APA said, quoting local police.

"It was a very close call," David Furtner from the Austrian police was quoted as saying, adding the children had been dizzy due to dehydration in the hot and sticky lorry. "Medical staff told us they would not have made it much longer."

The 29-year-old Romanian driver was arrested, while the children and their parents were taken to the hospital in the nearby town of Braunau. The discovery comes after 71 refugees were found dead in an abandoned lorry on an Austrian highway on Thursday.