International Link

One dead after N France chase of 'people smugglers' in British car

The UK-registered Audi was chased by Belgian police across border into France where its four occupents, reportedly Iraqis, were shot at and arrested.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A British-registered car has been involved in a high-speed police chase over the Belgian border into France, causing a series of accidents, reports BBC News.

Agence France-Presse reported that a car crashed near Dunkirk in northern France as it was being pursued.

Four people in the car were hurt, it said. Images showed a badly-damaged Audi with a UK number plate.

French and Belgian reports said police fired on the Audi, that was carrying four Iraqi suspected people smugglers.

A Dunkirk prosecutor told AFP the men "fit the classic profile of smugglers" and said at least one was Iraqi.

One of the passengers was shot in the shoulder and another in the stomach, France's La Voix du Nord newspaper reported. Police would not confirm whether shots were fired, but images of the Audi appeared to show bullet holes in its exterior.

In the traffic chaos caused by the series of accidents, a motorcyclist died after striking a lorry, AFP reported.

La Voix du Nord newspaper said the 200 kph (125mph) chase began when a lorry driver in Belgium called police when he saw men trying to help 17 migrants into his lorry.

Police then chased the men by car over the border, before firing on their vehicle on the A16 road at Couderque, near Dunkirk at about 05:40 local time (03:40 GMT).

Read more of this report from BBC News.