TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A car crashed into a river on Tuesday in southeastern Albania, killing all eight people inside, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver, police said.
The driver of the vehicle lost control and veered into the Vjosa River about 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of the capital, Tirana, around 4 a.m., according to a police statement. Seven of the victims were suspected to be "from third countries,” it said, a description police often use to refer to migrants.
Regional police chief Ardian Cipa said the car failed to stop at a police checkpoint and sped away. A police vehicle then followed the car and saw it had crashed into the river.
“It is suspected the driver is from Shkodra and the others are suspected to be migrants who frequently pass this road,” Cipa said, declining to give more details until the investigation is finished. Shkodra is a northwestern city around 300 kilometers (185 miles) from the accident site.
Police questioned a 26-year-old man who had rented the car.
Albania is not a primary route for migrants but small groups from Arab countries or Asia use it to reach Italy by sea or other neighboring countries by land.
Petrit Cano, a prosecutor in the southern district of Gjirokastra, said the accident was “the consequence of another criminal offense.”
“Criminal elements in this area try continuously to be involved in this illegal activity, that is the transport of persons who illegally cross the state border and then want to continue their trip to the European Union countries,” he said.
In 2019, Albania became the first non-EU member country to have officers of the bloc’s border agency, Frontex, manage its borders in the south and east, which migrants usually cross, and fight cross-border crime.
Albania’s Parliament in February approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy.
Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
In this photo provided by the Albanian Police and released on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 a view of a damaged vehicle that crashed into the Vjosa River about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Tirana, Albania. Albanian police say a car crashed into a river in the country's southeast, killing all eight people on board, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver. The driver of the vehicle lost control and veered into the Vjosa River about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Tirana, around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a police statement. (Albanian Police via AP)
In this photo provided by the Albanian Police and released on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 a view of a damaged vehicle that crashed into the Vjosa River about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Tirana, Albania. Albanian police say a car crashed into a river in the country's southeast, killing all eight people on board, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver. The driver of the vehicle lost control and veered into the Vjosa River about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Tirana, around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a police statement. (Albanian Police via AP)
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing growing resistance from protesters in Albania.
The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.
But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of long-time Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.
The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to Kushner and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
In an interview this week with U.S. podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump said they discovered the site by accident.
“We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it,” she said. “We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.”
An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.
Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.
Protest groups fear the sections of that pristine coastline could be snapped up by powerful investors. And public anger grew after video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site.
The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania’s most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast.
Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird species, at rallies in the capital Tirana.
Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing.
Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in Europe condemned the work, with one prominent local group charging that long-protected habitats are being "irreversibly destroyed.”
Albania’s state anti-corruption agency has confirmed it opened an investigation related to the project but has not disclosed details.
The government says the land earmarked for the project is privately owned. But competing claims have emerged questioning the privatization — a common type of legal dispute.
Rama has committed to the venture, saying it would align with Albania’s ambition to become a major global tourism destination.
“Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion),” Rama said.
He added: “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.”
However, the demise of a similar project in Serbia offers a cautionary tale. In November, Serbia's Parliament passed a special law to enable the building of a luxury complex in the capital, Belgrade, to be financed by an investment company linked to Kushner.
The following month, Serbia's prosecutor for organized crime charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office and falsifying of documents to help pave the way for the development.
Kushner later withdrew from the planned multi-million investment that would have replaced a sprawling bombed-out military complex, a designated heritage zone whose legal protection was lifted by the former officials now on trial.
Flamingos are pictured over Narta lagoon area, western Albania, Saturday, June 6, 2026, where a massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner is facing resistance over concerns about environmental impact and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Flamingos are pictured over Narta lagoon area, western Albania, Saturday, June 6, 2026, where a massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner is facing resistance over concerns about environmental impact and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
A view of Narta lagoon area, western Albania, Saturday, June 6, 2026, where a massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner is facing resistance over concerns about environmental impact and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Police officers block a street during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Protesters hold pink flamingo cutouts during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Police officers block a street during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency.(AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
Protesters scuffle with police officers blocking a street during a demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, opposing a luxury coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over concerns about environmental impacts and transparency.(AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)
