The interior ministry yesterday ordered a probe into a police chase that led to the death of two men after their car overturned while speeding away from police patrols. The interior ministry said the incident took place at dawn yesterday when the vehicle carrying a Gulf license plate defied orders by police to stop in Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

The ministry said in a statement that the vehicle did not have a rear number plate, which aroused police suspicion, especially after the driver refused to stop and sped away. It said the vehicle refused orders to stop, drove at a very high speed, jumped a number of red traffic lights and was also driving on the wrong side of the roads.

The chase resulted in a police patrol colliding into a lamppost in Sabah Al-Salem, severely wounding two police officers, who had to be hospitalized. This prompted police to call for reinforcements, said the statement, adding that as the driver drove off at a very high speed, the car overturned and the two passengers died.