Woman dies as van carrying refugees skids into river in Croatia

A woman died when a van carrying 11 migrants attempting to flee from the police plunged into a river in central Croatia, police said on Sunday.

"The police tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver accelerated and the van skidded into the Kupa" River, the police said in a statement.

The driver of the van, which was registered in Germany, fled the scene, leaving the vehicle to sink into the river on Saturday night, the statement said.

The 11 migrants, whose ages and nationalities were not specified, were rescued by the police.

However, a female migrant died afterwards while receiving medical care, the police said.

The van was first spotted by a police patrol in the village of Slatina Pokupska, about 50 kilometers north of the border with Bosnia, which has become a key transit country for migrants trying to make their way to Western Europe.

Some 36,000 migrants, hailing mainly from the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa, have entered Bosnia since last year, the EU said earlier this month, with many looking to get to EU member state Croatia.

About 7,400 migrants remain in Bosnia, many in the northwestern region near the Croatian border.

(Source: AFP)

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