A manhunt is underway after two British men were killed when a speedboat allegedly being used by drug gangs fell off its trailer causing a fatal chain collision on a Spanish motorway.
A third Brit is believed to have been seriously injured and is in hospital.
The collision happened on the RM-12 road near the La Manga resort in Murcia at around 9.30pm on Saturday.
According to the Spanish Civil Guard, the “inflatable boat” fell on to 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.
The RM-12 road.
El Espanol report the poorly tied down 10-metre long drug boat, Zodiac, was equipped with two 300-horsepower engines and fell as it was being towed at around 70mph.
Two men, aged 49 and 57, died in the collision and a third man, aged 54, was seriously injured.
Six other vehicles were damaged in the pile-up with witnesses seeing cars flip over and people trapped in the wreckage.
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.”
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.”
The Guardia Civil is investigating whether the drivers towing the boat were transporting the four-engine inflatable boat to a nearby beach to smuggle drugs.
Detectives are in talks with the British Embassy after the dead men were found with passports. Investigations are underway to see if the men were on holiday or lived in nearby Murcia.
The car reportedly was full of golf clubs.