German migrant car crashes resulted in seven fatalities

German police say that seven people have died when a crowded minivan, driven by someone suspected of smuggling people, flipped over.

Over 20 people who were trying to migrate, including children, are believed to have been in the van.

The driver tried to escape from the police at a road check, but then crashed near Ampfing in Bavaria, according to authorities.

The accident occurred during an increase in the act of smuggling people. Because of this increase, several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have started checking their borders.

The police tried to stop a Mercedes Vito van at about 03:00 (01:00 GMT) on Friday.

The driver of the car with an Austrian license plate sped up and then crashed multiple times at a junction on the A94 motorway, between Austria and Munich.

There have been a few accidents with people-smugglers in European countries lately.

On Thursday in Hungary, a car with French license plates that was believed to be secretly transporting migrants crashed, causing the death of two people and injuring six others.

A car crashed in the town of Burghausen, near the German-Austrian border. Four people got hurt. This happened about 50km away from the place where the accident occurred on Friday.

Some countries in the EU, like Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, have started checking their borders again because there has been more smuggling happening.

The increased checks done by Polish authorities have helped to decrease the number of migrants crossing the borders.

The A94 motorway in south-eastern Germany is a common path for people-smugglers who illegally cross the border from Austria.

The Interior Minister of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, said that the sad accident showed that border controls in Germany should be improved to prevent smugglers from coming in.

The number of people asking for asylum for the first time in Germany increased by 78% in the first seven months of 2023. The police say that about one-fourth of the immigrants who come to Germany are helped by people who smuggle them into the country.
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