Two British men killed in Spain after car hits 'drug traffickers’ boat

Two British men have died and another is seriously injured after their car collided with a suspected drug traffickers’ boat in Spain.

The collision happened on the RM-12 road near the La Manga resort in Murcia at around 9.30pm on Saturday 16 November.

The “inflatable boat” fell onto a dual carriageway close to El Algar, between La Manga and Cartagenalo, after becoming detached from a trailer on a vehicle travelling in front of the Britons’ car, according to the Spanish Civil Guard.

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Two men, aged 49 and 57, died in the collision and a third man, aged 54, was seriously injured. Another eight people travelling in six vehicles were also involved in the pile-up and suffered minor injuries.

The Civil Guard said the driver transporting the boat fled the scene. A spokesperson added: “The investigation (into) the road accident was carried out by traffic specialists from the Civil Guard.

“Specialists from the Judicial Police investigating the event suspect that the boat, due to its characteristics, may be related to drug trafficking.

“The driver of the vehicle that was travelling with the speed boat on the trailer fled the scene. He has yet to be arrested.

“The boat he was carrying that ended up on the dual-carriageway has all the characteristics of a so-called ‘narco lancha’ involved in drug trafficking and an investigation is ongoing.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting the families of three British nationals following a road traffic incident in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”

According to a first responder at the scene, the boat had been "tied to the trailer badly" and came loose, crashing on top of the car the British men were travelling in at speeds of over 100kmph (62mph).

The responder told Spanish news website El Confidencial: “It had been tied to the trailer badly, with the bad luck that it came loose and came off and crashed on top of the car the British men were in behind it at between 100 to 120kms an hour.

“The driver tried to dodge it but couldn’t and the car ended up a write-off. Two of the occupants died instantly. They were decapitated.”