Elements of the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) were called to the corner of Rue Royal and Rue Louis Pasteur, Port-Louis, in the early hours of Saturday morning, June 3, to extricate five people from a car. The car, carrying five police officers, including a female officer, all assigned to the Special Striking Team (SST) at police headquarters, was hit by a Contract van. One of the officers, aged 43, was seriously injured and had to undergo surgery. The driver of the car and two other family members were assaulted at the scene of the accident by individuals claiming to be other SST police officers.
The accident occurred at around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3. Immediately alerted, a team of police officers from the Trou-Fanfaron police station arrived at the scene. A Kia car and a Toyota rental van collided. The car was seriously damaged. Five people were on board. It took the intervention of the MFRS to extricate them from the vehicle.
They were all police officers, the 30-year-old driver from Pereybère, two other police officers, a 33-year-old from Pailles and a 43-year-old from Montagne-Blanche, a 31-year-old Vacoassian and a 35-year-old policewoman from Port-Louis. The bus was driven by a 45-year-old man from the Plaine-Verte area.
They were all taken to Dr. A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, Port-Louis, for treatment. The seriously injured police officer from Montagne-Blanche had to undergo surgery. Both drivers were given a breathalyzer test by a police officer from the Emergency Response Service. The results were negative.
According to surveillance camera images, the car coming from the direction of Gare du Nord suddenly emerged onto Rue Royale, and the rental van coming from the direction of Place d’Arme was hit head-on. The impact of the collision was so violent that the van rolled several times. It came to rest on its left side on the sidewalk of the Lising store.
The driver and three other occupants of the car and the driver of the bus were able to leave hospital after receiving treatment. The van driver received a cast on his foot.
On Saturday June 3, two reports of assault were received at the Trou-Fanfaron police station. A 24-year-old resident of Terre-Rouge was beaten up by five individuals. He explained that he had gone to the accident site to take photos of his van. At some point, he was pushed against the metal curtain of the Lising store by five people, before being attacked with fists and slaps all over his body. He was witnessed by his 25-year-old sister.
At around 12 noon on Saturday June 3, a 56-year-old businessman from Plaine-Verte reported a similar incident to the same police station. He was at the scene of the accident with his daughter, son and nephew, who was driving the van involved in the accident when four people violently attacked him.
