THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Authorities in Greece say they have picked up about 70 migrants, including children, found in a forested area on the outskirts of the northern city of Thessaloniki.

The group, who said they were from Syria, told police Wednesday that they had crossed the Greek-Turkish border and had been transported to the area hidden in a truck. The truck driver left them in the forest late Tuesday, and they spent the night there in the snow. Temperatures have plunged below freezing in the past two days across the country.

Under a European Union-Turkey agreement reached in March, migrants and refugees arriving on Greek islands from Turkey face deportation back to Turkey. The agreement, however, doesn't extend to those crossing the land border between the two countries.