train killed at least 14 migrants walking along the railway track in central Macedonia, state television MRT reported Friday.

The train ploughed into the column of migrants late Thursday night in a gorge at Pcinja, south of the capital Skopje.

There may have been at least 50 people in the group that the train hit and rescuers were still at the scene.

Macedonia, the southernmost former Yugoslav republic, is a major gateway to Europe for migrants arriving from Africa and the Middle East.

Migrants travel along railtracks at night to evade the police.