In the early-Bavarian darkness, a horrific calamity played out. A minivan, carrying over twice its intended capacity, flipped multiple times, leaving seven deceased, among them a six-year-old child. The driver is suspected of human smuggling, an illicit trade that has seen a chilling uptick in the recent past.
The incident unfolded on the A94 motorway, a stretch of road near Ampfing in Bavaria infamous as a frequented smuggling corridor. Twisted metal and scattered belongings bespoke the gravity of the incident. It has been reported that the ill-fated van crammed with 23 individuals, was designed to accommodate merely nine.
As per the police data, the futile attempt to evade the law emerged at around 03:00 (01:00 GMT) on that fateful Friday. The ominous Mercedes Vito minivan, carrying an Austrian license plate, surged to a deadly 180km/h (112mph), ultimately losing control and rolling over several times at a junction. In the aftermath, police arrested the driver.
The tragic event highlighted the growing menace of human smuggling across Germany, resulting in many Central and Eastern European countries imposing stricter border checks. Notably, just last week, a vehicle—presumed to be another cog in the smuggling machine—crashed near the German-Austrian border, injuring four.
Incidents like these have catalyzed action, leading several EU countries, including Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, to reintroduce border checks. Polish authorities, backing this move, report a decrease in migrant crossings and believe this foils smugglers’ attempts.
Despite the grim toll paid, the route remains a favored one by smugglers, sneaking desperate individuals across the Austrian border. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann opined that strengthening border control would choke these unholy networks thriving on human desperation.
As enforcement struggles with the relentless tide of human smuggling, Germany’s asylum registry soars by an astonishing 78% in the first seven months of 2023. Police estimate that a quarter of migrants’ entry into Germany is facilitated by the very smugglers they’re striving to eradicate. The human cost extracted by incidents like these provides stark justification for tougher law enforcement measures.
