At least 6 dead during the tragedy of Strépy-Bracquegnies: return on a Sunday in hell for the region of the Center

A car crashed into a crowd of people who had gathered to attend the Gilles collection, Sunday around 05h00 in Strépy-Bracquegnies (La Louvière). The last report states that 6 people died, 10 were seriously injured and 27 slightly injured. In the afternoon, the King, the Prime Minister, the Walloon Minister-President and several ministers went to the scene.

 

Horror and fright touched the carnival of Strépy-Bracquegnies even before its beginning. 

A vehicle appeared and hit a pick-up of the society of the gilles Les Boute-en-Train of Strépy-Bracquegnies early Sunday morning. The group, which consisted of about a hundred people, had just left the Omnisports hall to go up, via the rue des Canadiens, towards the center of the village. Several people lost their lives and dozens of others were injured. 

 

  

According to our information, most of them are in a stable condition, but there are still people in an induced coma tonight. The injured people taken to the emergency room this morning have sometimes arrived with extremely heavy injuries, fractures all over the body, head injuries or perforated lungs. At times, it was even necessary to ask outpatients to come back Monday morning to guarantee the care of the victims.

 

The crazy car that mowed down the gilles and their companions Sunday morning in Strépy-Bracquegnies dragged two victims for more than a kilometer.

 

They were hit on Rue des Canadiens and were still in and on the car when the police intercepted the car a few blocks away. One was on the hood of the BMW, partially inside the passenger compartment, through the blown-out windshield. The other was inside the vehicle.

 

This was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day of folklore in this region and it has turned into a day of deep mourning. We are all with the families, the friends of the people who have lost someone, who have experienced something extremely cruel and we want to thank the rescue services who have done their best in an extremely difficult moment, said Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

 

A minute's silence was held at the Strépy-Bracquegnies sports complex, in the presence of the King, Princess Elisabeth, representatives of the federal and Walloon governments, municipal authorities and emergency services.

 

King Philippe and Princess Elisabeth arrived at the Saint-Julien sports complex in Strépy-Bracquegnies. The sovereign and his daughter participated in a meeting with representatives of the federal and Walloon governments, but also local authorities and emergency services.

 

The car was occupied by two people who were arrested.

 

The driver, Paolo F., was charged with manslaughter and unintentional injury resulting from a traffic accident. He was placed under arrest and imprisoned in Tournai. The council chamber must decide within five days on his possible continuation in detention for one month.