Two bodies believed to be migrants retrieved from river on Poland-Belarus border

Two bodies have been retrieved by authorities from the Bug River on Poland’s border with Belarus. They are believed to be migrant men who had attempted to cross the border into Poland.

Investigators are conducting an autopsy to determine the identities and cause of death of the bodies, which were significantly decomposed when they were found, according to Katarzyna Gągolińska of the Biała Podlaska police.

The Polish Border Guard says that almost 300 attempts have been made to cross the Polish-Belarusian border in the Lublin province since the start of this year.

Dariusz Sienicki, captain of the Bug River Border Guard Unit, says there is an upward trend compared with a year earlier. In 2024, approximately 530 reportedly tried to cross the border illegally, the Border Guard said.

In the last 24 hours, the Border Guard rescued 13 people from the Bug River in another town in Lublin province. They were citizens of Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan, Sienicki said.

Polish Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Maciej Duszczyk alleged that the bodies “were people who were pushed into the water by the Belarusian services” in mid-March. He claimed that this is a tactic used as provocation by Belarus.

Warsaw has accused its neighbour Belarus of luring asylum seekers from countries in Africa and the Middle East and pushing them towards the Polish border to sow chaos and destabilise Poland.

Authorities say it is a retaliation from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for EU-imposed sanctions. They say he gives orders in cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to punish the EU over its support for Ukraine.

At the end of March, Poland temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum.

That legislation was widely criticised by human rights groups, which fear it may worsen a current humanitarian crisis.

The border area is notorious for its dangerous terrain and harsh conditions, including exposure to freezing winter temperatures and inadequate access to food, shelter and aid.

Paired with physical barriers imposed by the Polish government, the forest has become a trap for people travelling to the border, often resulting in a significant number of injuries, disappearances and fatalities.