Thousands of jubilant migrants arrive in Austria from Hungary

Under a cold rain, waves of exhausted migrants late Saturday continued to pour into the border town of Nickelsdorf, in Austria's Burgenland state.

Earlier, some Austrians let out welcoming cheers as busloads of refugees pulled up on their border with Hungary -- and weary passengers clutching children streamed toward them.

The passengers carried their meager belongings in backpacks as they exited the vehicles in the rain.

They walked on foot over the border to Nickelsdorf, where applause broke out among groups welcoming the convoys of buses with food and water.

The Austrian Red Cross also provided medical supplies and warm blankets.

At least 5,500 refugees have arrived in Austria from Hungary since Friday night, the United Nations refugee agency said Saturday. Some 2,500 are still in the border town of Nickelsdorf and are waiting to head to the capital, Vienna, the UNHCR said via Twitter.

Deputy Chief of Burgenland State Police Werner Fasching earlier said about 10,000 migrants were expected in total. There are only enough beds for 600 people in and around Nickelsdorf, and the bulk of the refugees are being sent to Vienna via trains and buses, he said.

"We are trying to move as many as possible in the direction of Vienna," Fasching said. There the migrants will receive food, drink and, if needed, medical care. Some who wish to continue on to Germany will be permitted to do so.

Their arrival in Austria caps an emotional week for the migrants, many of whom had walked for hours before they got into dozens of buses provided by the Hungarian authorities.

But the busing was only a temporary solution for this band of refuge seekers, leaving questions about what will be done for the thousands of other Syrian and other migrants still crossing the Mediterranean and traveling north through Europe.

In light of this week's acute situation, Austrian and German officials agreed to allow thousands of migrants into their countries, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said.

The UNHCR said it "welcomes the decision of Austria and Germany to receive thousands of refugees and migrants who crossed the border last night from Hungary. This is political leadership based on humanitarian values."

And it's not just the politicians who have extended a hand. Some individuals in Vienna are donating train tickets for refugees heading onwards across Europe, the UNHCR said, while others elsewhere are giving food and supplies.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the refugees she'd met at a Vienna station were enormously grateful for the welcome they'd received since reaching Austria.

Trains stopped

Chaotic scenes erupted Thursday as trains packed with Syrian refugees hoping to travel to Austria or ultimately Germany were abruptly halted at Bicske station outside the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

Tempers flare as standoff with migrants continues 02:46

Hungarian authorities wanted to send them to a nearby holding camp, but -- fearing that once there they would be badly treated and unable to continue their journey north -- the migrants refused to get off the train despite suffocating heat and limited food.

After a standoff lasting more than a day, hundreds set off on foot Friday along the train tracks toward the Austrian border, about 100 miles away. Hungary eventually sent buses to pick them.

About 300 more at Bicske station agreed to go to the nearby refugee camp, according to a Hungarian government statement.

Amid the chaos, the U.N. refugee agency said a 50-year-old man had died Friday in Bicske. Initial reports suggest he fell and hit his head on the tracks while trying to run away from police, said Montserrat Feixas Vihe, the UNHCR's Central Europe representative.

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More than 1,000 other refugees set off on foot from Budapest's main Keleti station -- where they had been waiting for days to travel onward -- and walked for hours beside a highway. They also were picked up by buses, as were others still at the station.