Migrant crisis: 4,000 migrants bused to Austria from Hungary train station Keleti

Up to 4,000 migrants have made the crossing into Austria following the Hungary's surprise decision to move them over the border. The exhausted and bedraggled refugees, many of them fleeing conflicts in war-torn countries including Syria and Iraq, are now being accepted at a Red Cross facility in the neighbouring country.

The Hungarian government is understood to have organised the transit due to increasing pressure on its police, and the mass exodus of refugees who attempted to walk to the Austrian border threatening administrative chaos. Many of the refugees stranded in Hungary were attempting to reach Germany, which has promised to grant asylum to any refugee from Syria who enters the country.

The buses have been rounding up migrants from Keleti train station in central Budapest, where thousands of migrants remain in makeshift accommodation and within the station itself.
Buses began picking up migrants at the station in central Budapest last night (4 September). Red Cross workers have been greeting groups with blankets, tea and food. The buses had stopped at the Austrian border, as many walked the final stretch to receiving centres.

The Hungarian government has since announced that it will not transport any more refugees to the border. However, more refugees are currently gathering at Keleti station, in the hope that they will taken to the border.

PM accused of ignoring crisis

Germany is expected to take in up to 800,000 refugees this year, in what is the largest migration crisis in Europe since the Second World War. The country upped the figure from an original estimate of 300,000 during recent days.

Countries including the UK have come under fire for not taking their fair share migrants as part of its obligation under international law. An online petition calling on the UK Parliament to accept more refugees has reached 404,725 signatures.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has harshly criticised British Prime Minister David Cameron's refusal to allow more refugees to enter the UK, citing his "walk on by" attitude to the situation. Yesterday, Cameron said that the UK would accept more refugees from Calais camps, but was widely criticised for not putting a figure on the number, only stating that Britain would fulfil its "moral responsibilities" towards the refugees.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 249,650 refugees and migrants entered the EU via Mediterranean countries between January and end of July this year, and a further 2,349 died, mainly during the treacherous sea route across the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy. Of those, 2,800 are now in Calais.