A MOTORCYCLIST has died and two suspected people smugglers in a drug-laden car registered in Britain were seriously wounded in a shoot-out on a packed Belgian motorway.
By Alix Culbertson
11:41, Thu, May 5, 2016 | UPDATED: 13:14, Thu, May 5, 2016
The drama unfolded on the A16 near the French port of Dunkirk, after a high-speed chase which started across the border in Belgium when a lorry driver stopped on the hard shoulder and called police to report a group of migrants hiding in his lorry.
Police arrived quickly and four men, thought to be people smugglers of British-Iraqi nationality, jumped out of the back of the truck, threatened the driver with a knife and got into a maroon Audi A4 with a British number plate.
The Audi, which had four men in it, reached speeds of 125mph as police chased it, causing three accidents, including one in which a motorcyclist from the Netherlands drove into the back of a lorry, killing the driver.
A car was also seen on its roof in the middle of the motorway. The chase ended over the border in France when the Audi crashed into a car which had been in a minor accident 20 minutes before.
A person in the car hit by the Audi suffered a broken femur while the others were in shock. One of the men in the Audi was shot by police in the shoulder while another was shot in the abdomen. A local traffic police source said: "The incident started soon after 5.30am.
"Belgian police were pursuing suspected people smugglers on the A16. "Shots were fired, and the car being chased caused a huge pile-up of traffic. "There were numerous injuries, and one fatality." The car being chased became so badly damaged as it sped away from police it was travelling on just its wheel rims. Witnesses said they heard gunfire before the car being chased was forced to halt.
At least 15 bullets were fired during the incident and the British car was hit a number of times by officers as it travelled at high speed, witnesses added. Two men inside were seriously wounded and immediately airlifted to hospital in nearby Lille. Another witness said: "Both were hit by police bullets and immobilised, while two other men were arrested."
The suspected people smugglers were driving an Audi with a British registration plate, but were thought to be from Iraq. car chase. One has "life threatening" injuries while another is "also very badly hurt" and the other two in the car are also in hospital, local government sources said. The incident led to the closure of the entire motorway going southbound from Belgium to France.
The northern French area is notorious for gangs of people smugglers who arrange trips across the Channel to the UK for migrants sleeping rough in the area or in camps in Dunkirk. They charge up to £2,000 a head, often smuggling their "clients" in the back of lorries and vans, providing a lucrative trade for criminals from all over Europe, including many from the UK.
The Dunkirk prosecutor has opened an investigation into the alleged people smugglers endangering the lives of others, unauthorised residence and causing unintentional injuries.
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