Two people were killed and a third was injured in a traffic accident in l’Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona) this Saturday at dusk. The car in which they were traveling fell down a 20-meter-high embankment and finally sank into the sea, the Generalitat fire department reported on Sunday. After receiving the warning, rescue workers deployed numerous emergency services to the area, including several boats with underwater rescue specialists and a helicopter.
The deceased were a man and a woman, both in their 70s. The person who was rescued alive is a 48-year-old man. He was found two hours after the accident at sea, 330 meters from the coast. He had symptoms of hypothermia. The firefighters also managed to rescue a dog from the water that was allegedly in the vehicle involved in the accident.
The accident occurred shortly before nine o’clock at night on the Ronda del Mar de Calafat, a road that runs through an urbanization with several chalets and apartments. This stretch of coast north of l’Ametlla and very close to the Calafat circuit is dominated by steep and rocky stretches. The vehicle in which the three people were traveling fell 20 meters into the sea. He was submerged in water, complicating rescue efforts.
The firefighters mobilized 14 teams of specialists for special rescues and received support from the Mossos, the Guardia Civil, the local police of l’Ametlla and a sea rescue helicopter. They managed to get one person out of the car, but emergency services confirmed they had already died. At 9:22 p.m., the second victim was found in the water.
Emergency crews have conflicting information about the possibility that there could be other passengers in the car. Meanwhile, they found a dog in the water that they were able to save alive. Lifeboats continued to search the area and found a man alive in the water at 11:19 p.m., more than two hours after the accident. He was 330 meters from shore and showed symptoms of hypothermia. He was transferred to the port of Calafat and from there to the Verge de la Cinta hospital in Tortosa, where he was admitted with a less serious prognosis.
The Mossos d’Esquadra have an ongoing investigation to determine the causes of the incident.
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