In a widely circulated video posted to Facebook last week (July 15), a trucker is seen apparently forcing a group of migrants including a number of young women to get off his lorry, on the Italian side of the border with France, by whipping them with a steel-tipped cargo strap.

It is believed approximately 12 people had hidden in the vehicle, most likely in an attempt to get to France.

The police commissioner of the province of Imperia, in which the Italian border town of Ventimiglia is located, Nicola Lo Iacono, has set in motion a search at the international level for the Bulgarian trucker seen in the video.

The prefect's office made the announcement on the sidelines of a committee for public security and order.

Police seek trucker after videoed violence goes viral

The incident happened on the afternoon of July 15 in the border area for vehicles in Ventimiglia. The man's actions under investigation were seen in a video that went viral within hours of being posted on social media.

The video of just over a minute long shows the trucker yell in order to make the frightened young women get out of the back of his lorry and then begin whipping them.

Some managed to dodge the blows but others ended up being hit by the cargo strap. The approximately 12 migrants of African origin had most likely got onto the vehicle in the hope of making it to France.

Also read: 'Migrant flows down in Ventimiglia' in March

Prefect aims to track down 'smugglers'

A statement issued by the prefect's office stated that the "Imperia police commissioner, after learning of the incident, immediately activated the search within the framework of international cooperation between police forces with the aim of identifying the trucker."

The statement added that Prefect Valerio Massimo Romeo has stepped up measures against undocumented migration with a focus on tracking down the "smugglers" who brought the women to the border area in exchange for payment.

The prefect has also written to the owner of the Ventimiglia carport to ask that a video surveillance system be installed for the area where lorries park overnight while waiting to cross the border.

The system would be connected with the operating rooms of the security forces.

Also read: From Lampedusa to Mayotte, a year of reporting alongside migrants

Eritrean women slept in Ventimiglia's 'Pad'

According to a report published by the Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX, which has its headquarters in the nearby city of Genoa, some of the young women of Eritrean origin had slept the previous night at the Caritas Intemelia facilities in Ventimiglia, where they returned after the incident.

"That video hurts," said Serena Regazzoni, head of the migration section of Caritas Intemelia. "Over the past few days we have noted more people passing through: children and very young women. The lack of a reception camp continues to be a problem."

The women are belived to have slept in facilities near the train station known as the 'Pad,' created to assist those arriving in Ventimiglia.

Caritas noted that the Pad is the only place where migrants can get aid and medical help since the Campo Roja reception center was closed on July 31, 2020.

Also read: Authorities accused of 'hunting' migrants on the Italo-French border