Seven dead after police pursue suspected human smugglers on German motorway

At least seven people were killed and more than a dozen others injured when a suspected human smuggler lost control of a van carrying migrants, German police said on Friday.

The accident occurred on the A94 motorway to the east of the southern German city of Munich after the Mercedes Vito van started speeding up amid a police pursuit, police added.

The van was carrying around 20 migrants, including children. Seven people died after the van overturned several times, while the remaining passengers sustained mild to severe injuries and were brought to nearby hospitals, police said.

Last month, German authorities imposed new border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic.

Germany saw its first-time asylum requests rise by 78% in the first seven months of 2023, according to official data. In August, registered illegal border crossings to Germany reached 14,701, up 66% on the same month last year, police data shows.