No sign of foul play in cartoonist death: Swedish police

STOCKHOLM: There is so far no sign of foul play in the car crash that killed Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who lived under protection after his 2007 blasphemous action prompted death threats, police said Monday.

Vilks died together with two police bodyguards on Sunday in a collision with an oncoming truck near the small town of Markaryd in southern Sweden. "We want to completely exclude an external act targeting the car in which Lars Vilks found himself," Stefan Sinteus, chief of the South Sweden regional investigation unit, told a press conference. "There is nothing to indicate that, but we want to be certain so we can rule it out," he added.

Police said they have yet to determine the reason why the vehicle that was carrying Vilks and the two officers swerved off the road, breaking through a metal barrier before hitting a truck travelling in the opposite direction in the oncoming lane. A tyre explosion is one of the hypotheses. Both vehicles then caught fire and all three passengers died at the scene. The driver of the truck was injured and taken to hospital where he was questioned by investigators.