A freight truck hit a police checkpoint in Andalusia early on Tuesday, killing six people including two Guardia Civil officers, the regional government said.
Three other people were injured in the accident, which happened at around 4.30am on a highway near the town of Los Palacios in the province of Seville, the Andalusian government said in a statement.
All three injured belong to the Guardia Civil police, the force said in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
‘I would like to send all my love and solidarity to the families of the people who died, two of them police officers, in a road check,’ Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez posted on social media, adding that he wished a ‘speedy recovery for the injured in this tragic accident’.
Spanish media said the officers who were run over by the truck were carrying out routine checks against drug trafficking. The driver of the truck has been detained and tested negative for drugs and alcohol, the reports said.
A representative of the central government in the province of Seville, Francisco Toscano, told news radio Cadena Ser that the driver appears to have been ‘distracted’ and accidentally hit the police checkpoint.
The accident comes after two Guardia Civil officers were killed in February after being hit by a drug traffickers’ boat during a chase in the harbour at Barbate, near the major southern port of Cádiz (Andalusia). ALSO READ: Eight arrested after two Guardia Civil officers killed in drug boat chase.
Spain is one of the main entry points for drugs into Europe given its close ties with Latin America, which is the main source of cocaine, and its proximity to Morocco, a key source of cannabis resin.
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