Authorities in Austria arrested six people suspected of human smuggling in two separate incidents over the weekend.
Authorities said four suspects were detained, including one person who had tried to flee, after their vehicle was stopped in the northern city of Linz on Sunday.
"The persons are likely to have been on their way to Germany," the police said.
The suspected smugglers transported 53 people in the cargo area of a small utility van. The group, which included several small children, sat crammed together hidden behind a black tarpaulin, Austrian police reported.
Most of the people were from Turkey, as were three of the four suspects in custody, police said. The nationality of the fourth suspect is still unknown. The four men, aged 18, 24 and 28, are accused of human smuggling.
On Saturday, in another incident in the town of Eugendorf near Salzburg, local police said officers attempted to stop and check a suspicious vehicle. In an attempt to flee, the driver pressed on the accelerator.
Police officers drove their patrol car in front of the van causing a collision. Both 21-year-old suspects, a male and a female, have been detained.
According to the police, the 11 people in the vehicle, including a family with four children, are believed to be refugees. They were unharmed, however, two police officers were injured in the collision.
