Hungary: two dead and six injured in car accident with migrants

A Hungarian police statement said the car carrying the migrants hit a tree and overturned not far from Hungary’s southern border with Serbia. The car, which the press agency Reuters reported had a French license plate, was driven by a suspected smuggler and did not stop for police border controls.

Just before the accident, the car reportedly accelerated and then crashed. Police report that two people died and six people were injured. The total number of people in the vehicle has not been confirmed.

Hungarian police, like other border control forces along the Balkan route, have recorded an increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross their borders without papers. over the last few months.

Typically, those crossing into Serbia from Hungary then hope to pass through Slovakia or Austria before heading to Western Europe.

Frequent car accidents

Most of the people traveling this route are young men from the Middle East and Afghanistan. However, the nationality or gender of those involved in this particular accident have not been clarified.

Accidents of this type are relatively common in the region. According to reports from The Guardian in September this yearhuman rights groups working in Serbia said there were at least four accidents after police car chases of cars carrying migrants over the past year.

The Guardian discovered 20 additional cases in Hungary that have been reported in Hungarian or international media since June 2021.

A volunteer from the local NGO Medical Volunteers International (MVI), named Elisabeth Jennings, also said: THE Guardian that they observed an increasing number of road accidents involving cars transporting migrants.

The British daily also spoke to a Syrian, called Karim*, who was involved in one such accident in 2022. Karim told the newspaper he was traveling in a car with 18 other migrants, adding that they were not far from the place. Austrian border in Hungary when police started chasing the vehicle.

“I remember I was sleeping in the car, so I wasn’t sure if we really had an accident. But then I’m in a hospital bed and I can’t move at all,” Karim said . THE Guardian.

In the accident in which Karim was involved, the car reportedly hit a safety barrier. Two people also died in the incident, Karim said.

Forced expelled despite his injuries

Although Karim claims he tried to apply for asylum in Hungary with the help of an NGO, Hungarian police arrived before a representative could get to the hospital to talk about his application.

He says he was quickly deported to Serbia. At the time of his expulsion, Karim claims that he still could not move his arm and that he was wearing a neck brace.

Finally, according to the report of THE Guardian, Karim tried to cross the border again and finally reached Germany. There he was told he would have to be deported to Bulgaria, which, under the Dublin Regulation, was the first EU country where he entered the bloc.

But after six months of seeking religious asylum, Karim finally obtained a temporary residence permit in Germany.

Another man, who was also in contact with MVI, claimed that Hungarian police threatened him to keep quiet about the car chase that took him to hospital.

Like Karim, he was then forced to return to Serbia, he explained.

Hospitalized then rejected

Rights groups working in northern Serbia also said THE Guardian that they had documented 40 similar pushbacks from hospitals in Hungary. At least 13 of these people are believed to have been injured in car accidents.

They say that so far in 2023 they have witnessed 12 incidents in which people were kicked out of a Hungarian hospital, five of which were linked to a car accident.

MVI’s Jennings meanwhile said THE Guardian that she had seen cases where people had “serious or life-threatening injuries” and were still turned away.

The lack of available translators in Hungarian hospitals often means that migrants do not always understand what is wrong with them or how to get the ongoing care they may need.

In 2021, InfoMigrants told the story of a similar case, that of Jalal from Morocco, in an episode of his Tales from the Border podcast.

???? Subscribe to Tales from the Border and listen to previous episodes here.

Balkan Route to Germany and beyond

Most of the border between Hungary and Serbia is covered by a steel fence which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had been built after the meteoric rise in the number of entries into Europe via the Balkan route in 2015.

However, despite the fence and frequent border checks, migrants repeatedly attempt to scale it or force their way through with the help of smuggling gangs.

Studies have shown that smuggling networks tend to work with local experts who know each border area. Successful migrant groups are usually met by a series of different agents, who help them achieve their goal using different means, including high-speed vehicle travel.

*This is not his real name, assigned by the Guardian to protect his identity

With Reuters