Car crash in Greece leaves migrants dead

At least 10 migrants and a people smuggler have lost their lives after their speeding car collided with a truck in northern Greece on 13 October. The accident took place at around 5am near the town of Kavala, police said.

According to multiple reports, the migrants had crossed from Turkey into Greece and were heading toward the town of Thessaloniki.

Greek police said the people smuggler was driving the car at the time of the accident, and that he refused to stop at a police checkpoint. Moments after, the speeding car collided with a truck coming in the opposite direction. Both vehicles caught fire and the migrants and people smuggler were trapped in the burning vehicle.

The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was the only one who escaped safely from the deadly incident. He was later discharged from hospital after being treated for minor injuries.

A local firefighter told reporters that one of the victims was a child, and that at least three to four migrants were hidden in the car’s trunk.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of migrants crossing into Greece by land from Turkey has soared. During the first six months of 2018, more than 10,000 migrants crossed the Greece-Turkey border at the Evros river.

On 10 October, Greek police found the bodies of two women and a girl, thought to be migrants, close to the river. According to police, the victims appear to be of North African, Middle Eastern or Asian origin.

“It is clearly a criminal act. They were found with their hands bound, each body about two or three meters away from other. Their throats were cut right across,” coroner Pavlos Pavlidis told Associated Press.

TMP – 29/10/2018