BUDAPEST: Two people died and six others were injured when a car thought to be smuggling people through Hungary overturned on Thursday, Hungarian police said.

Since July, there has been a rise compared to previous months in the number of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers crossing from Serbia into Hungary, which is a member of the European Union.

The car driver refused to stop for a routine inspection and instead sped off, losing control at a nearby bend in the road, according to the police.

The vehicle swerved, hit a tree and overturned.

Two people died at the scene, while six others were injured, police said.

Investigations showed a smuggler was driving the car, which had French licence plates, they added.

Since July, illegal crossings on the Hungarian-Serbian border have risen compared to previous months.

Farther north, EU member Slovakia has temporarily re-introduced checks along the Hungarian border as a response.

A recent report by the UK’s Guardian newspaper found there have been around 20 crashes since June 2021 involving migrants, where the driver was chased by the police or tried to evade routine road inspections.

This year, Hungary started releasing foreign nationals convicted of migrant smuggling from its prisons as a cost-cutting measure.

Authorities give the migrants 72 hours to leave the country.

More than 1,500 jailed smugglers have been let go, according to the Hungarian National Command of Penitentiary Services.

In July, the European Commission launched the latest in its series of legal procedure against Hungary, challenging the decision to expel detained people smugglers.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, on the other hand, blames the EU’s executive arm for encouraging migration.

Following a surge in aslyum seekers and migrants arriving in 2015, Hungary built razor-wire fences along its border with Serbia and Croatia. -AFP