Four-month-old baby among 8 injured after tourist ploughs car into restaurant

31 August 2023 , 15:25

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Four-month-old baby among 8 injured after tourist ploughs car into restaurant

Eight people, including teenagers and babies, are injured after a car ploughed into a busy bar terrace on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura.

The rental car careened off the road in the tourist hotspot of Corralejo, on one of the Canary Islands of Spain, ploughing through the terrace filled with bargoers and slamming into a shop front. Unconfirmed reports say the driver was a British tourist. Police suspect the driver may have suffered a heart attack or another medical emergency behind the wheel, as emergency services confirmed to local outlet Canarian Weekly that he is one of the people who was rushed to hospital. Five people were seriously injured.

Ambulances at the scene where the restaurant was crashed into (Facebook)

Eyewitnesses say the vehicle was going at high speed as if it were out of control. Among those seriously injured was a four-month-old baby girl who was transferred by helicopter to the major hospital in Gran Canaria. An 18-year-old woman was also transferred to the same hospital. A 40-year-old male with severe trauma was transferred from the site of the crash to a hospital in Fuerteventura, along with a 49-year-old woman in serious condition, and a 43-year-old male with severe trauma.

Sources told local media the vehicle was travelling between 50-60mph (Facebook)

A five-year-old girl was transferred in a basic life support ambulance to a hospital on the island. As well as a 44-year-old male and a 50-year-old male. La Oliva Firefighters collaborated with emergency services in assisting and transporting the injured, while police were deployed to the area of the incident. Pictures show the rental car, which appears to be a white Dacia Duster, was heavily damaged in the crash, with its windscreen smashed and bonnet dented.

The Mayor of the La Oliva municipality where the accident occurred said in a statement this evening: "Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic event. We are working closely with the relevant authorities to clarify what happened and provide support to the victims and their families at this difficult time."

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The City Council said: "We are working tirelessly to obtain more information about what happened and take the necessary measures to prevent similar situations in the future."

Rachel Hagan