At least 10 migrants are reported dead after a road accident in northern Greece on Wednesday. Eight migrants died at the scene of the crash and a further two died in hospital later, stated Greek police.
The accident took place on a road in northern Greece on Wednesday, according to Greek news reports. Police say the driver of a vehicle carrying migrants apparently lost control and veered off the road into roadworks. The crash happened around 1 am local time, reported the news agency Associated Press (AP).
According
to the news agency dpa eight people died at the scene and two more in
a hospital in the port city of Alexandroupolis soon after. It was not
clear whether there were also smugglers among the dead. Media reports
also didn’t specify the countries of origin of the migrants
traveling in the vehicle. AP said that all the dead and injured were
men. AP also reported that a third person from the crash was also taken to hospital after the incident.
Towards western Europe
The Greek police and authorities often discover vans and lorries filled with migrants hoping to cross the border region between Turkey and Greece. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, at least 2,400 migrants have used this route to make their way further up the Balkan route towards central and western Europe, without asking for asylum in Greece.
The
Greek newspaper Ekathimerini said that a passerby told police about
the accident. They added that the cause of the crash was still
unknown but that the car had crashed through the roadworks and into a
cement base.