BRUSSELS (AP) — A car slammed at high speed into carnival revelers early Sunday in a small town in southern Belgium, killing four people and seriously injuring about two dozen, the mayor reported.

A crowd of over 100 were gathered in Strépy-Bracquegnies, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Brussels, at dawn Sunday for the start of celebrations of carnival which had been abandoned for two years because of COVID-19.

“A car drove from the back at high speed. And we have a few dozen injured and unfortunately several people who are killed,” Mayor Jacques Gobert told RTBF radio.

Media reports said the crash may have been caused by a car that was being chased by police.

“What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.