7 dead, 5 injured in migrant car crash in northern Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece – A car believed to be transporting migrants who recently entered the country crashed into roadworks on a highway in northern Greece overnight, killing seven people and injuring five, police said.

Police said the crash occurred just before 1 a.m. local time Wednesday, outside the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis, when the car ran through roadworks and into a cement base on which toll booths are to be installed.

Authorities said all of the dead and injured were men. Two were severely hurt and hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Their nationalities were not immediately available.

Thousands of migrants head to Greece from nearby Turkey, most hoping to make their way to more prosperous European countries farther north. Although most arrive on eastern Aegean islands near the Turkish coast, many cross the land border in northeastern Greece.