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Europe
Colonist Smugglers Injured in Cross-Border French Police Chase
2016-05-06
[AnNahar] A car chase between Belgian police and suspected people smugglers on Thursday left several injured in a morning of chaos on a northern French motorway, official sources said.

At least three road accidents, one of them fatal, were reported on the A16 motorway near Dunkirk and Calais on the northern French coast -- jumping-off points for many migrants colonists and refugees trying to reach Britannia.

The first was a minor crash around 0540 (0340 GMT) in which no one was badly injured.

But shortly afterwards, a police chase reached the scene and led to a more serious accident.

Four people had fled across the nearby Belgian border after police tried to check their car at a parking area known to be used by smugglers.

Officials did not confirm local media reports that shots had been fired by police before the crash.

All four people in the suspect car were maimed in the crash, two of them seriously. Police said they were foreigners, but gave no more details. The Dunkirk prosecutor said one had identified himself as Iraqi.

The prosecutor said police had been alerted by drivers after the men were seen trying to smuggle people aboard lorries in the parking area.

"They fit the classic profile of smugglers," the prosecutor said.

As traffic backed up along the motorway, yet another accident was reported shortly afterwards, and local authorities said a motorcyclist had been killed after colliding with a heavy goods lorry.
Update at noon ET from An Nahar:
'People Smugglers' in France Police Chase are Iraqi Kurds

Four suspected people smugglers whose car was involved in a collision with a lorry after a high-speed police chase in northern La Belle France are Iraqi Kurds, prosecutors said Friday.

The British-registered Audi had crossed into La Belle France from Belgium on Thursday after police tried to check their vehicle at a parking area known to be used by smugglers.

Two of the four people were maimed by police gunfire and two others were hurt in the accident on Thursday. All four were still being treated in hospital on Friday, prosecutors said. One of the suspects who suffered gunshot wounds is in a serious condition.
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