MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The first metal posts of a future mesh fence were installed at a checkpoint near the Austrian locality of Spielfeld in the southeastern Styria state on Monday afternoon, Austria’s Krone newspaper reported.
17 October 2015, 13:53 GMT
Austrian soldiers from a battalion stationed at the southern city of Villach were helping a Tirol-based construction firm to assemble the over-eight-feet-high fence, according to reports.
Maj. Gerald Trampusch, in charge of the construction, said the fence was due to be completed by Christmas.
Austria has been overwhelmed by a rising influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa, fleeing conflicts and poverty in their home countries. The country’s Interior Ministry estimates that over 2,600 asylum claims were submitted between November 30 and December 6.
