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| Austria's Haider dies in accident | Austria's Haider dies in accident |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider has been killed in a road accident, police reports say. | Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider has been killed in a road accident, police reports say. |
| Haider died near Klagenfurt in Carinthia, his political stronghold, early on Saturday, police said. | Haider died near Klagenfurt in Carinthia, his political stronghold, early on Saturday, police said. |
| They said he was driving alone when his car came off the road and he suffered severe head and chest injuries. | They said he was driving alone when his car came off the road and he suffered severe head and chest injuries. |
| The 58-year-old was a former leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, and was known for his anti-immigration and anti-EU policies. | The 58-year-old was a former leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, and was known for his anti-immigration and anti-EU policies. |
| Police investigators in Klagenfurt told the BBC that investigations into the crash were under way. | Police investigators in Klagenfurt told the BBC that investigations into the crash were under way. |
| He had reportedly been due to attend his mother's 90th birthday celebrations later in the day. | |
| "For us this is the end of the world," the deputy leader of Haider's Alliance for Austria's Future, Stefan Petzner, told Austrian news agency, APA. | |
| EU sanctions | EU sanctions |
| Haider was a divisive figure, who gained notoriety after he became leader of the Freedom Party in 1986. | |
| In 1991, his term as governor of the province of Carinthia was interrupted, after he made comments praising employment policies of Nazi Germany. | In 1991, his term as governor of the province of Carinthia was interrupted, after he made comments praising employment policies of Nazi Germany. |
| But he was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. | But he was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. |
| In 2000, the EU imposed sanctions against Austria in a protest over his party's role in government. | In 2000, the EU imposed sanctions against Austria in a protest over his party's role in government. |
| In 2005, Haider founded the Alliance for Austria's Future, which scored its best result so far in recent elections, gaining 11% of the vote. |