An ambulance from the fire brigade (symbolic photo) Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentral
From BZ/dpa
A transporter with 17 Syrian refugees and two people smugglers landed in Taubenheim (Bautzen district) on the Spree on Friday afternoon.
The federal police said six of the refugees were injured and taken to hospitals.
The officers noticed the van on the B178. A patrol was finally able to locate the vehicle near Löbau (Görlitz district). When officers tried to stop and check the car, the van reportedly sped away.
The escape finally ended for the car and its occupants in the Spree after the van went off the road.
According to the federal police, the 17 Syrian refugees were unsecured on the loading area of the vehicle. One of the smugglers, a 30-year-old Syrian man living in Germany, was arrested. The second smuggler is being sought.
The federal police have started investigations into the smuggling of foreigners under life-threatening circumstances and illegal entry into Germany.