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Nine dead and 19 seriously injured as coach carrying tourists from Finland leaves the road and overturns in Benalmádena
By h.b. - Apr 19, 2008 - 11:14 PM

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The group of 44 Finnish tourists were on their way back to Málaga airport after a holiday on the Costa del Sol.
An emergency number has been set up for those wanting more information - It is (+34) 955041861.

Nine people have died, one of them a seven year old girl, and 19 more have been seriously injured in a coach crash on the A7 Benalmádena bypass this evening. It happened at 1950 at the 224 km point above Arroyo de la Miel, when the coach, carrying a group of 44 Finnish tourists, driver and co-driver, left the road and overturned, after coming into a side contact with a four wheel drive vehicle. It is a very fast downhill stretch of road and it had been raining in the area for most of the day.

The driver of the four wheel drive vehicle tested 0.5 for alcohol, double the legal maximum and is being blamed for the accident. He has been arrested following reports of a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre.

The tourists were on their way back to Málaga airport from Marbella at the end of their holiday on the Costa del Sol. The coach was from the Tui España company, and had left from Marbella, picking up tourists en route in their return to the airport. The driver is reported to be among the injured.

Nine bodies are reported to have been removed from the scene and there are 19 confirmed serious injuries, and 16 lesser injuries, according to the emergency services 112. Rescue services reached the victims by cutting a hole in the roof of the bus.
The Andalucian Health Service set up a mobile hospital at the scene, where a number of the passengers were attended to as soon as possible.

The injured were then taken to different hospitals in the province – One youngster is in the Materno Infantil, four injured are in the Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga, two have been taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella and the rest to the Civil Hospital in Málaga.

The road was closed direction Málaga for a time, leading to considerable delays in both directions on a busy Saturday night.
It is being described as the worst road accident in recent years in the province of Málaga, and is the most serious coach crash seen in Spain since November 2001 when 20 pensioners lost their lives in Huelva.