Seven people died and several others were injured early on Friday in a crash in southeastern Germany after a minibus believed to be packed with migrants reportedly tried to evade a road check.

A Mercedes Vito minibus with Austrian license plates and carrying 23 people tried to evade the check some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border between Austria and Germany as it drove toward Munich, police said.

The driver lost control of the vehicle, which flipped over several times before landing on its side. Police said they suspect a "people smuggler" was at the wheel and have opened a criminal investigation into the crash in the Bavaria region on charges of suspected homicide.  

Some of those injured were in a serious condition, with children among the casualties.

"We cannot yet say if there were children among the dead," police spokesman Stefan Sonntag told AFP. "The driver and suspected people smuggler survived and is among those injured." 

Asked about the identity of the victims, Sonntag said the police had "no information where the people were from or their nationality."

He said the injured had been taken to local hospitals where authorities would attempt to determine their country of origin.  

According to police, the vehicle sped up to avoid a road check by federal police forces. It then took a freeway exit between the Ampfing and Waldkraiburg communities and crashed at about 3:15 am (0115 GMT).

Media images showed the crumpled minivan stricken on its side with its windshield shattered as emergency services workers tended to the injured. The motorway to Munich was blocked to traffic as responders worked to prepare to clear the wreck.

Authorities in recent months have reported increased people smuggling on the route between Austria and Germany. In the town of Burghausen last month, another suspected smuggler also tried to evade police before crashing his vehicle.

A surge in arrivals in recent months, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, has reignited a fierce immigration debate in Germany with local authorities saying they are overwhelmed by the number of asylum seekers. 

The influx has fuelled support for the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which made major gains in two regional elections this month including in Bavaria.

Since early October, Germany has beefed up controls along its eastern border amid concerns that too many migrants were trying to enter the country. 

Germany recorded over 250,000 asylum requests in the year to September, more than for the whole of 2022. The country is also hosting more than a million Ukrainian refugees.

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