wo British men have died and a third is seriously injured after their car collided with a suspected drug traffickers’ boat in Spain. 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.

Two men, aged 49 and 57, died in the collision and a third man, aged 54, was seriously injured. Another eight people travelling in six vehicles were also involved in the pile-up and suffered minor injuries.

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.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.