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10 June 2004
CASTEJON – The hunt was underway Thursday to find gunmen who shot dead two policemen during a car chase in northern Spain, the interior ministry said.
The patrolmen were hit by a hail of automatic weapons fire when they tried to overtake a vehicle they were pursuing, said the ministry.
One officer died on the spot and the other on the way to hospital.
The dead officers were named as Juan Antonio Palmero Benítez, 29, and 31-year-old José Antonio Vidal Fernández.
Police sources said they were chasing the car for a speeding offence.
There have so far been no arrests.
The murders occurred in the town of Castejon, in Navarra province, in the north-west of the country.
Initially there was speculation that it could have been ETA terrorists.
Navarra province is claimed by the separatist group ETA as part of a greater Basque homeland.
ETA has been active in Navarra in the past.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news