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Manhunt for ‘drug smuggler’ whose speedboat decapitated two Brits in pile-up crash after coming off trailer at 75mph
Eight other people travelling in six vehicles were also involved in the pile-up after the crash
SPANISH cops have kicked off a manhunt for a suspected drug dealer whose speedboat came loose and decapitated two Brits in a deadly crash.
The boat reportedly came off a trailer that was attached to an SUV - and flew through the air at 75mph before brutally hitting the hatchback the British men were driving in.
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The collision happened on the RM-12 road near the La Manga resort in Murcia at around 9.30pm on Saturday.
Out of the three Brits travelling in the car, two men aged 49 and 57, were declared dead on the spot and a third man, aged 54, was seriously injured. The trio were believed to have been on a golf trip.
He was rushed to Virgen de la Arrixaca University Clinical Hospital in Murcia for urgent medical attention.
One of the first emergency responders on the scene told Spanish news website El Confidencial that the men had been "decapitated".
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At least eight other people travelling in six vehicles were also involved in the pile-up and suffered minor injuries.
Spanish authorities are now looking at traffic control cameras and local businesses located near the crash site that could help identify the all-terrain vehicle - and its owner who is suspected to be a drug trafficker.
They also believe a second person may have been in the car at the time.
The 32ft boat - which was found beside the mass group of cars - is believed to be what is known as a "narco lancha", say cops.
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A narco lancha is a term used to describe a speedboat which is used by drug traffickers to smuggle narcotics inside.
Drug smugglers often use high-speed vessels to outrun law enforcement teams at sea while delivering big drug stashes.
A Civil Guard spokesman added: “The accident happened around 9.30pm last night on the RM-12 around the El Algar municipality.
“A semi-rigid boat on board a trailer a vehicle was pulling came off and ended on the road across both lanes.
“A car travelling behind it with three British men inside aged between 47 and 54 smashed into the vessel.
“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.”
One of the first emergency responders on the scene told Spanish news website El Confidencial: “The Zodiac was a 'narco lancha' because it didn’t have a number plate and 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.”
A police source added: “Officers identified the three British occupants of the car by their passports.”
Other local reports, pointing to the probability they were holidaying in the area, said their car boot was filled with golf clubs.
Police have already said they won’t be formally naming the Brits, although the men who died have been identified locally by their initials only as P.D, 49 and J.W, 57 and the survivor as I.P, aged 54.
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Four of those injured in the pile-up of the collision are still receiving treatment at a hospital in Cartagena.
They include two women aged 18 and 55 and two men aged 19 and 29, Spain's regional emergency response coordination centre said.
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