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7 September 2015updated 26 Jul 2021 8:11am

Photos: Refugees being welcomed and celebrating in Austria and Germany

A snapshot of the reactions of refugees and locals as Austria and Germany open their borders after days of chaos in Hungary.

By Anoosh Chakelian

After travelling miles, the thousands of refugees who streamed into Germany and Austria from Hungary over the weekend received a warm welcome. Following chaotic scenes in Hungary, where thousands were trapped and blocked from travelling onwards, they celebrated as they crossed the borders.

Photos: Getty

Migrants and refugees celebrate as they cross the border from Serbia into Hungary along the railway tracks. This comes after days of confrontation and chaos in Hungary – it unexpectedly opened its borders with Austria allowing thousands of migrants to leave the country and travel onto Germany.

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A boy plays with a ball while waiting for a bus to Austria after crossing the Hungarian-Austrian border.

A refugee boy plays with a balloon at the Austro-Hungarian border.

A child blows bubbles as she waits with hundreds of refugees for a bus further into Austria after crossing the Austro-Hungarian border.

A boy smiles while he rests with his parents and siblings at a platform at Vienna’s Westbahnhof train station in Austria after they have arrived by a train from Hungary.

An Austrian volunteer hugs a refugee child.

Video showing how refugees are being welcomed across Germany and Austria.

People hold up a “Welcome” banner at the main station in Saalfeld, eastern Germany, as trains from Austria carrying refugees who were stuck in Hungary arrive.

A volunteer stands amid relief goods in a train cabin in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, before handing them to refugees as they arrived.

A placard reading “Welcome to Germany” on the wall of the main station in Dortmund, western Germany, where refugees who were stuck in Hungary were expected to arrive.

A volunteer hands out care bags to refugees in Berlin.

A refugee is handed food as he walks to get a bus after his arrival at the train station in Dortmund, western Germany.

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