Belgian carnival crash not presumed to be militant attack, says town's mayor

A car drove at high speed into a group of Belgian carnival performers who were preparing a parade early on Sunday (March 20), killing six people and seriously injuring 10 others, authorities said, saying the incident did not appear to be a militant attack.

"It is too soon to say what the motive of the two drivers was," prosecutor Damien Verheyen told Reuters. He earlier said during a news conference that there was nothing to suggest a terrorist motive.

Police denied media reports the car was involved in a high-speed chase.

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The incident occurred in the southernBelgiumvillage of Strepy-Bracquegnies at around 0400 GMT.

Jacques Gobert, mayor of the neighbouring town of La Louviere, said between 150-200 people were gathered to get ready for the annual folklore parade, involving costumes and drums, when the vehicle appeared.

"A vehicle came from behind really quickly and went into the crowd and kept going for some hundred metres," said Gobert.

The two people driving the car, which was later intercepted, were detained. Police said they were local people in their 30s and were not previously known to police.

Belgiumhas sought to root out people suspected of militant links over the past seven years. A Brussels-based Islamic State cell was involved in attacks on Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people and on Brussels in 2016 in which 32 died.

Ramming vehicles into crowds has become more common as a weapon used by militants in Europe and white supremacists in the United States because such attacks are inexpensive, easy to organise and hard for authorities to prevent, experts say.