A car drove into a crowd attending a carnival Sunday morning in the Belgian town of La Louvière, killing six people.
A car rammed into crowds attending a carnival Sunday morning in the Belgian town of La Louviere, killing six people and seriously injuring 10 others, the mayor said.
“A car traveling at high speed drove into the crowd that had gathered to attend (the carnival),” Jacques Gobert, the mayor of this city in southern Belgium, told the Belga press agency.
“What was supposed to be a party turned into a tragedy”
The accident occurred around 5 a.m. (0400 GMT) in Strepy-Bracquegnies, a village which is part of the industrial town of La Louvière, the authorities said. According to a press release from the mayor’s office, a group of a hundred people had just left the Omnisports hall to go back to the center of the village when a vehicle drove into the crowd.
“What was supposed to be a convivial party turned into a tragedy. We are monitoring the situation closely,” Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden tweeted. “My sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who died and were injured in the incident that occurred this morning in Strépy”.
My sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who died and were injured in the incident that occurred this morning in Strépy. What was supposed to be a friendly party turned into a tragedy. We are monitoring the situation closely.
— Annelies Verlinden (@AnneliesVl) March 20, 2022
The prosecutor’s office is due to speak later today, the statement added. A press conference by the authorities is scheduled for 11 a.m. (10 a.m. GMT) in La Louvière.