Migrant crisis: Thousands overwhelm Croatia

 
September 17, 2015 (As reported by CNN)

At the Hungarian-Serbian border (CNN)A day after Croatia opened its border to migrants, chaos erupted as thousands of people broke through police barriers set up at the train station in the border town of Tovarnik.

Women were wailing and police tried to help children as masses of people pushed their way out of the holding area set up for processing, CNN's Ivan Watson reported.

Police did not use force against the migrants, as they tried to keep the barriers in place. They finally gave up and the migrants started running into Croatia.

In just 24 hours, more than 7,600 migrants have arrived through at least seven border crossings.

Terence Pike, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Croatia, told CNN that Croatian authorities had been prepared to handle only an influx of 500 migrants and refugees a day.

"I think that too many refugees entered in an uncontrolled way on the first day," said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. 

 ''Yes, of course, Croatia showed a human face, but I stress that the safety of Croatian citizens and the stability of the state comes first," she said.

Croatia can't care for and satisfy the needs of so many people, she said, calling for tougher surveillance across state borders.

Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said the capacity to take in migrants has been reached.

By nightfall, police set up a new perimeter in an attempt to stop more than 1,000 migrants from penetrating farther into Tovarnik, where bullet holes left over from the Balkan wars of the 1990s still scar some buildings. 

Watch Video (CNN)

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