Brussels, March 20 (AFP\/APP):A car ploughed into a crowd of early morning carnival-goers in Belgium on Sunday, killing six people and injuring dozens of others, authorities said.<\/p>\n
The tragedy took place just after 5:00 am (0400 GMT) at the carnival of Strepy-Bracquegnies, a district of the former industrial town of La Louviere.<\/p>\n
“At this stage of the investigation, we know that a vehicle slammed into a group (of carnival goers) and that there are six dead and 26 injured, including 10 people whose life is in danger,” prosecutor Damien Verheyen told reporters in La Louviere.<\/p>\n
The main suspects, who were arrested, were born in 1988 and 1990, he said, adding that terrorism was not at this stage considered a motive.
\nThe suspects came from La Louviere and are not known to authorities for similar acts, Verheyen said.<\/p>\n
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo deplored the “horrible news” on Twitter, saying “a community gathering to celebrate has been hit in the heart.”<\/p>\n
De Croo was expected to visit the scene later on Sunday accompanied by Belgium’s King Philippe, the prime minister’s office said.<\/p>\n
Belgian towns and villages host many street carnivals around the season of Lent, with the parades in Binche and Alost the most known internationally.<\/p>\n
– ‘High speed’ –<\/p>\n
Like Binche, the carnival of Strepy-Bracquegnies involves participants dressed up as “Gilles”, comical figures who are “called out” to the parade in the early hours.<\/p>\n
“I was walking by,” one witness, Theo, told RTBF news.<\/p>\n
“I turned around and saw a car running into the troop. It came very fast and didn’t brake. It continued and it took a girl 100 metres further,” he said.<\/p>\n
La Louviere mayor Jacques Gobert said there were 150 to 200 people participating in the pre-dawn prologue to two days of festivities.<\/p>\n
The car came “at high speed” and the driver of the vehicle ploughed into the group and “pulverised a significant number of people,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gobert said he asked organisers that the remainder of the carnival events — the first to take place after two years of coronavirus-related cancellations — should not take place.<\/p>\n
Recently, a similar tragedy took place in neighbouring Germany, when a man in February 2020 rammed his car through a carnival procession, injuring dozens of bystanders including children.<\/p>\n
Germany and other countries at the time had been on high alert for car ramming attacks since December 2016, when an Islamic State group sympathiser ploughed a truck through a Christmas market leaving 12 dead.<\/p>\n
German towns had seen several such attacks since, with most carried out by people who were found to have psychological issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels, March 20 (AFP\/APP):A car ploughed into a crowd of early morning carnival-goers in Belgium on Sunday, killing six people and injuring dozens of others, authorities said. The tragedy took place just after 5:00 am (0400 GMT) at the carnival of Strepy-Bracquegnies, a district of […]<\/p>\n
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