Belgium: The Great Chase

Middelkerke, Belgium, sits right on the North Sea, so it sees a lot of migrant traffic of folks trying to cross over into England. Late Saturday night-early Sunday morning, a van loaded with 8 migrants tried to evade a police stop, and a wild chase ensued. The van drove on the wrong side of traffic at a high speed until it ran off the road and crashed, injuring all the occupants.

The below article is translated from Dutch by Fousesquawk.

Van with migrants crashes in Middelkerke after police chase:" The officers could not prevent the accident"

May 3, 2026 09:54

A van with 8 passengers tried to avoid a police stop late Saturday night-early Sunday morning. Of the 8, two were seriously injured when the van crashed. One person is in critical condition.

Around 1:50 am, on the Royal Road in Middelkerke, a van with migrants tried to evade a police check and fled. The police gave chase, but it resulted in a crash.

According to Jean-Marie Dedecker, the mayor of Middelkerke, the police were unable to prevent the crash. "The van was driving in the opposite direction of traffic," said Dedecker on Radio 1. "The police motorcycle drove ahead to warn people of the wrong-way driver. But he was overtaken by the van. The van then went off the road at high speed. The result was 8 people injured." One person was still in critical condition Sunday morning.

According to police, not far from the scene of the accident, 9 more migrants were found in the dunes. In Blankenberge, material was also found that could possibly be used for an attempted crossing to the United Kingdom. "It is mopping up water with the tap still open as long as people remain welcome in England," says Dedecker.

The victims were taken to hospitals in Oostend and Veurne as reported by the governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwe, on Sunday. "Once again, our police have delivered good work in very difficult circumstances," said Decaluwe.

- Source: Belga