Belgium
Car crashes into crowd at carnival celebration – four dead
Police and firefighters are in Strepy-Bracquegnies where a car crashed into a group of carnival goers early Sunday morning
© Nicolas Maeterlinck/ / Picture Alliance
In Belgium, a driver crashed into a crowd celebrating carnival. Four people died and several others were injured.
A car drove into a crowd at a carnival celebration in Belgium, killing four people. According to the latest reports, more than 20 people were seriously injured. This was explained by the municipality of the southern Belgian city of La Louvière, according to the AFP news agency. A total of around 70 people were affected by the incident. The AFP also spoke of “at least” four dead. So it was unclear whether other people succumbed to their injuries.
According to Mayor Jacques Gobert, the car drove at high speed into the crowd that had gathered early in the morning for a traditional event in the municipality of Strépy-Bracquegnies, as reported by the Belga news agency.
According to Gobert, the incident happened at 5 a.m. A group of about a hundred participants had just left the sports hall to head back to the center of the village when the car crashed into the crowd, he said, according to Belga. “The driver continued his journey, but we intercepted him.”
It is unclear why the car crashed into the participants at the carnival
The background is still unclear, Gobert said. He announced that the Mons prosecutor’s office would comment later. Until late in the morning it was unclear whether the vehicle was deliberately driven into the group of people or whether it was an accident.
The Belgian municipality of Strépy-Bracquegnies is located about 40 kilometers southwest of Brussels and, according to the overriding city of La Louvière, recently had almost 9,000 inhabitants.
A moderator from the Belgian radio station RTL, who took part in the carnival event, reported on dramatic scenes. According to him, the car drove into the middle of the crowd. “There was music and laughter and three seconds later there were screams. It was terrible,” the broadcaster quoted him as saying. According to him, about 150 people attended the event.
Municipal emergency plan triggered in Belgium
According to the mayor of La Louvière, the municipal emergency plan was triggered and the victim support service activated. Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden wrote on Twitter that her deepest condolences go to the families and friends of those killed and injured. “What was supposed to be a great party turned into drama.” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also expressed his sympathy and spoke of “terrible news” from Strépy-Bracquegnies.
Current events in Belgium are reminiscent of the horror of the Shrove Monday parade two years ago in Volkmarsen in northern Hesse. At that time, 88 people, including 26 children, were seriously injured when a driver deliberately crashed into the Shrove Monday train. The perpetrator has since been sentenced to life imprisonment.
According to Belga, the carnival season in La Louvière only started at the beginning of March after strict corona restrictions were lifted. In 2020 and 2021 the carnival was completely canceled due to Corona.