Migrant trafficker, children, among six killed in Greek highway crash

Six people were killed and two critically injured on Friday when a minivan carrying Iraqi and Syrian migrants crashed into a wall and overturned on a northern Greek motorway, police said.

Three children, aged around five, nine and 12, were among the dead, a hospital official said. Police said a person identified as the "trafficker" who was driving was also killed. There were 16 people travelling in the minivan.

"Possibly the driver lost control of the vehicle, the investigation is ongoing," a police spokesman said. The nationality of the driver was not immediately clear, but the minivan had a Polish number plate, police said.

Two people were in a critical condition in intensive care and another had "serious" injuries, Tassos Karasavvoglou, administrator of the hospital in the town of Kavala, told Reuters.

Greece has been a gateway for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing violence in Iraq and Syria, heading for Europe.