Several people were killed when a car crashed into carnival revellers in a small town in southern Belgium. Media reports say at least four people were killed when the car hit a crowd gathered at dawn on Sunday for celebrations in Strepy-Bracquegnies, which is 30 miles south of Brussels.
Mayor Jacques Gobert told RTBF radio: “A car drove from the back at high speed. We have a few dozen injured and unfortunately several people who are killed.” Reports said the crash may have been caused by a car being chased by police.
He added that the local sports hall will be used as a victim's services centre for those who have been impacted by this morning's events. A resident told of the moment she heard the car speed past her house, reports the Mirror.
A journalist who was there for the carnival said he saw the car accelerate. Bel RTL host Fabrice Collignon told rtl.be : " We were picking up the Gilles, we were going from house to house. We were in a long straight line and there were more or less 150 people. We heard a noise huge coming from behind the company and the car literally drove into the group of people.
"It's a scene I never thought I'd see in my life. The car accelerated and the time to realize that it was something was going on, everyone was on the ground. People were screaming. There was music and smiles and 3 seconds later, it was screaming. It was horrible".
She told rtl.be : "This morning, I was in my bed. Just hearing the car go by, my house shook. A few seconds later, the impact on the carnival group. Frankly, it was not going slowly. It's terrible. Then, the car continued so I quickly got out because my children were there too. I won't tell you how my blood pressure rose… I quickly phoned my daughter to see if she would answer me and she answered me well telling me not to worry because they were on the side, unfortunately, others weren't so lucky..."
Another said: " All of a sudden, I look out of my window and I see that everyone was leaving that way. People were crying, shouting... Me, I didn't I didn't dare to go there because it's horrible." One resident told the news outlet how their family were at the festivities.
They said: "It's going very badly... because my children were there too. There were my children, there was my daughter-in-law, my goddaughter... There was full of friends and my brother-in-law who made the Gilles, and even all the Gilles... Really badly, badly, badly..."
Belgian politician Annelies Verlinden tweeted: "Deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured in the incident this morning in Strépy. What was supposed to be a great party turned into a drama. We are monitoring the situation closely."
