Disaster with seven deaths
Smuggling accident on A94: Suspected driver in custody
Seven people died and several were seriously injured in an accident involving a suspected smuggling vehicle on Autobahn 94. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Seven people died in the serious accident on Autobahn 94 in Bavaria. The suspected driver is accused of murder, among other things.
The stateless man living in Austria is said to have been traveling in a van with 23 people on Friday morning, it was said. He fled from an attempted check by the federal police at 180 kilometers per hour. The car, designed for a maximum of nine people, had an accident at the Ampfing/Waldkraiburg motorway exit. Seven inmates died, including a six-year-old child. The 24-year-old was also injured. The passengers came from Syria and Turkey.
“We continue to take very tough action against the smugglers and their backers. We want to protect human lives and stop criminals,” emphasized the head of the Traunstein public prosecutor’s office, Wolfgang Beckstein. The investigation in this case is also about clarifying the background and identifying and arresting those behind it.
In the last few months, the Traunstein public prosecutor’s office has obtained several arrest warrants for smuggling offenses almost every day. “Unfortunately, we now have cases almost every day in which 15-20 people are smuggled in unsecured in small vans,” said the public prosecutor.