Malaga locals say 'Spain is sorry' over Irish horror car crash deaths
The group were all from Mullingar in Co Westmeath and included a young couple, and were aged between 23 and early 30s
Locals in Malaga this afternoon told how "Spain is sorry" after three young Irish people were killed in a car tragedy in the area in the early hours of Sunday.
Mark McCullagh, Michaela Newcombe and Amy McCullagh all died following the crash, which happened near the city of Malaga in the early hours of Sunday while Ian McCullagh, Amy’s husband, is reported to have been seriously injured after their white Mercedes veered off the A-7 motorway and plunged about 30 metres down an embankment.
The car came to a stop on a ravine along Calle Pintor Sánchez Cotán which runs parallel to the A-7 motorway in a residential area.
They were all from Mullingar in Co Westmeath and included a young couple, and were aged between 23 and early 30s.
Locals gathered at the scene to share their grief and pay their respects over the loss of the three Irish people.
"It’s a tragedy, it’s very sad, especially when the people are young as the pain of the loss is worse," said Eduardo Valdez.
"We are sorry in Spain about what happened."
Paco Francisco Raval also spoke of his sadness over the horror in Malaga, a region of Spain’s Andalusia’s Costa del Sol which brings in thousands of Irish visitors every year.
"They come here on holidays and this happens," he said. "It’s very sad."
The Irish ex-pat community was also reeling with shock after the loss of life.
"As a long-time Irish resident in Malaga it was tragic to hear the news of the young Irish people who lost their lives," said Philip Magee, who helps run the annual Bloomsday event in the Andalusian city.
"My condolences are with the families and their friends back home."
Flowers left at the scene of the tragedy at Calle Pintor Sánchez Cotán, opposite an Aldi supermarket, yesterday carried a personal message.
"R.I.P. – from the Irish Community in Malaga," a note attached to the orchids read.
Local authorities said the car in which the four Irish people were travelling had collided with another vehicle in the crash at about 2.38am on Sunday.
They added that one of the vehicles, believed to be the Mercedes, plunged down an embankment off the A-7 while traveling east toward Almeria at kilometre 979, at the Cerrado de Calderon turn-off.
Locals at the scene said the white Mercedes plunged over a wall about 10 metres high that skirts a roundabout opposite an Aldi before the vehicle came to a stop.
This could not be confirmed but scattered glass and a large stain on the ground that could be oil were visible.
A worker in Aldi, across from the crash site, said that at least two wheels of the vehicle had landed in their car park about 10 to 15 metres from where the Mercedes ended up.
"It’s horrible, the accident," the worker said, asking not to be named.
Video footage on local news channels in Malaga showed the white Mercedes crumpled at the bottom of the embankment. The vehicle has since been removed from the scene.
Road workers at the site were replacing a section of the barrier at the side of the A-7 motorway after the car had crashed through it.
One worker, who asked not to be named, pointed at a lamppost lying down the embankment which he said the car had toppled after it ploughed through the barrier. A crane could be seen lifting up and removing the original barrier that was visibly damaged.
The worker also pointed to a barrier on the side of the outer right-hand lane on the A7 motorway, on the stretch that travels east to Almeria, that was equally damaged.
"They must have hit that first," he said.
A cone was placed at what appeared to be skid marks that led across the slip road where traffic joins the A-7 bound east.
Local police were contacted for comment.
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