The E40, one of Belgium's key motorways, was completely closed for several hours on Thursday morning after a fatal accident took place in Veurne, near the French border. The victim was repeatedly hit multiple times.
The E40/A18 towards Jabbeke was completely blocked from around 05:40 until 08:30 on Thursday because of a serious accident, the Flemish Traffic Centre reported. The circumstances of the fatal accident are still unclear, but the federal police told Belga News Agency that one person had died.
The car accident reportedly happened at around 04:15, when it was still dark and raining heavily. Two cars were on the side of the E40 towards Jabbeke. One of the cars, a BMW with British number plates, had lost a front wheel.
Initially, the Flemish Traffic Centre announced at around 04:50 that only the right-hand lane was blocked, but almost an hour later, the entire section of the motorway was closed. "The motorway is now completely blocked. A local diversion is available to motorists, who should take exit 1-Veurne, and then follow route J to exit 2-Oostduinkerke," the agency said on social media.
It only confirmed at 08:35 that the accident had been dealt with and that the motorway was no longer completely blocked.
The emergency services were called, and reported the traffic accident, stating a body was lying on the motorway. Gazet van Antwerpen wrote on Thursday morning that the person was presumably hit several times. The federal highway police noted that it is very difficult to identify the person because "the body is unrecognisable".