Suspected smuggling operation Swiss rental car crashes in Croatia - 14 injured
14 migrants were injured in an accident in Croatia. The vehicle had a Swiss license plate. The van's landlord is shocked.
09.09.2024, 14:30
09.09.2024, 14:41
SDA
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- 14 migrants, including seven children, were injured in an accident in Croatia.
- The vehicle had been rented in Switzerland. The owner of the garage was shocked.
- The Balkan route remains a well-known route for migrants, although the number of refugees in the region is decreasing.
In Croatia, 14 suspected irregular migrants were injured while fleeing from the police. The van in which they were being transported westwards crashed into an electricity pylon on a country road near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Croatian media reported this with reference to the police. Shortly beforehand, the police had taken up the pursuit of this vehicle with Swiss license plates. Its driver had not heeded the officers' requests to stop and instead accelerated even more. The victims, some of whom were seriously injured, including seven children, were taken to hospital. The authorities are continuing their investigation.
Garage owner is furious
As reported by "20 Minuten", the car was rented from a garage in Switzerland last Thursday. The garage owner is beside himself: "How many people were in the car?" he asks, stunned. "That's an eight-seater!"
The landlord continues: "The tenant came with a woman. They pretended to be a couple. They said they needed the car to go away with the family for the weekend." The tenant was supposed to return the bus on Monday. "The whole thing is a disaster." The garage owner has not yet been contacted by the authorities. However, he is worried about damage to his reputation. "I rent out the bus from time to time. So far, everything has gone smoothly," the landlord continues.
Familiar route for migrants
One of the so-called Balkan routes for migrants, who mainly come from Syria and Afghanistan and are heading towards Western Europe, runs through Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, there were almost 2,000 refugees and migrants in asylum shelters in Bosnia at the end of July. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), their number has fallen by 75 percent in the first seven months of this year. It was around 12,400 on this route alone.
Overall, migrant routes have shifted significantly during this period: 64 percent fewer came to Europe via the Mediterranean. In contrast, the number of those arriving from Russia via the eastern land border increased by 195 percent. On the West Africa route via the Canary Islands, the increase was 154 percent, Frontex added.
