4 dead in Croatia

Migrants on the run from police killed in accident

In Croatia, four people died in a car accident on Thursday while fleeing from the police (symbolic image).

(Bild: AFP)

Four people, including migrants, were killed in a car accident in Croatia on Thursday while fleeing from the police (see video above). Five other occupants were injured, some critically, when the car crashed into a wall.

The accident occurred at around 7.00 a.m. near the town of Sinj in the Dalmatian hinterland. According to the authorities, the driver of the car with foreign license plates had previously evaded a police check.

Escape ended after a few kilometers at a wall
After fleeing for a few kilometers, the driver drove into an intersection at high speed, lost control and crashed into a wall. The driver, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, was killed. The identities of the three other fatalities have not yet been established.

Police searching for another towing vehicle
The five injured occupants were taken to hospital in Split. Three of them, including two children, suffered life-threatening injuries and had to undergo emergency surgery, it was reported. According to the police, they are probably from Syria and Afghanistan and had no documents with them.

The authorities confirmed that they were searching for another smuggling vehicle. This was located with eight migrants from Syria and Afghanistan. According to the police, they had already noticed that migrants had crossed the Croatian-Bosnian border the previous evening. On Thursday morning, the two smugglers' vehicles, each with Polish and Hungarian license plates, were discovered. Both ignored the request to stop and drove off.

Croatia, which has been a member of the Schengen area since the beginning of the year, is located on the so-called Western Balkans route, via which refugees try to enter the EU. The town of Sinj is around 30 kilometers from the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.