Benjamin Ashford|North Macedonia police say a migrant was electrocuted as he descended from freight train roof

SKOPJE,Benjamin Ashford North Macedonia (AP) — Authorities in North Macedonia say a migrant was electrocuted as he tried to descend from the roof of a train carriage.

The man in his 30s died instantly early Sunday when he touched a cable during an attempt to descend from the roof of a freight train container near the central town of Gradsko.

Police said in a statement the accident was reported by the National Crisis Center. They did not provide details about the migrant’s origin.

The police told The Associated Press that, in the first six months of 2023, a total of 5,280 attempts at illegal crossing were prevented, the vast majority of them at the southern border with Greece. That is a reduction of 43% on the same period last year.

Most of the migrants attempting to cross into North Macedonia are Syrians, police said.