An Indian woman was killed when a car plunged into a river in southern Lithuania in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Police Department reported. The car was pursued by the police that suspected it was transporting irregular migrants.
The police in Marijampolė District received a report at 03:36 that a Mazda car was carrying migrants.
The car was spotted on the Marijampolė-Kalvarija road, but it failed to stop when signalled to do so by the police.
The car veered off the road into the Šešupė River in Liudvinava at around 03:50.
The police detained three men, possibly Indian nationals, and launched a search for the car’s driver.
The female passenger, believed to be an Indian national, was killed in the accident.
Preliminary information indicates that the migrants had crossed into Lithuania from Latvia.
With Latvia recording a record number of attempts at irregular border crossings from Belarus, Lithuanian border guards say that the majority of migrants then head for Lithuania.
A total of 1,643 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus so far this year. In Latvia, the number has already exceeded 7,000.
Lithuania is planning to send 20 border guards to help Latvia cope with the migrant flows.
Lithuanian border guards have prevented a total of around 20,900 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were instructed to push them back. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people.
Eight injured in police chase
In a separate incident, eight migrants, possibly Sri Lankan nationals, were injured when their car overturned while being chased by the police in the central Lithuanian town of Jonava.
According to the Police Department, officers began to pursue the Opel Astra after it failed to stop when signalled to do so at the entrance to Jonava at around midnight.
The vehicle veered off the road in the town, hit a building and overturned.
The driver of the Opel, a 42-year-old Sri Lankan national, was injured in the accident, as were seven passengers, also possibly Sri Lankan nationals.
They were taken to hospital with various injuries and handed over to the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) after receiving medical assistance.
Preliminary information suggests that they arrived from Latvia.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
