Tragic crash in Germany claims 7 lives in human trafficking vehicle

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Seven people were killed in the southern German state of Bavaria on Friday after a tragic accident involving a human trafficking vehicle, according to the Bavarian state police.

The casualties include a six-year-old child, and the van, bearing a license plate from the Austrian capital Vienna, was operated by a stateless man from Austria, said police.

The vehicle, registered for only nine people, was carrying 23 passengers, including individuals from Syria, police revealed.

The federal police had noticed the vehicle on the highway before the incident and attempted to halt it, but the driver accelerated.

Subsequently, the driver lost control, leading to the vehicle overturning, the police added.

"This terrible event shows the cruel and inhumane way in which human traffickers put people's lives at risk," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on X.

"We must smash the cruel business of human trafficking gangs who make maximum profit from the plight of people and smuggle them across borders in such a life-threatening way," she added.

A few days prior to the incident, Faeser had announced increased controls at the borders with the Czech Republic and Poland, in addition to those already in place at the Austrian border, responding to the request of eastern German states.

At a press conference in Berlin on Thursday, Faeser had said that one in four asylum seekers in Germany entered the country through human traffickers. "This is a high number," Faeser added.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, a total of 251,213 asylum applications were filed in Germany from January to September 2023. That is already more than in the entire year 2022.