Two Sri Lankans were among the 73 illegal immigrants in Bulgaria who were heading to a European Union country.

An External Affairs Ministry official said Bulgarian customs agents had discovered 73 illegal immigrants hidden in a refrigerator truck.

“It was found that two Sri Lankans were among the illegal immigrants,” the official added.

The Sri Lanka mission in Poland was informed about the detection since there is no Sri Lanka mission in Bulgaria. The mission has contacted the Bulgarian authorities and investigations are in progress, the official told the Daily News.

Initial investigations disclosed that the group were heading to a EU country.

The illegal immigrants, including two women and two children under 10 years were hidden inside a Volvo truck with Bulgarian licence plates. The truck was driven by a Greek transporting water-melons from Greece to Debrecen, Hungary.

They were detected at the Greek-Bulgarian border at the Kulata border crossing point with the use of x-raying equipment.

The illegal immigrants which also included Afghans and Pakistanis were hidden in a special secret compartment with air conditioning.

The border police and customs are investigating the human trafficking attempt.