British father and his two children die in head-on road accident in Croatia

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/british-family-croatia-fatal-collision-dubrovnik

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A British man and his two children have been killed in southern Croatia when their car was almost destroyed after colliding with a truck.

A woman, thought to be his 44-year-old wife, and a third child, an eight-year-old, were undergoing surgery in a Dubrovnik hospital following the accident near Slano that occurred shortly before 8am Thursday morning.

The child was believed to have serious chest injuries while his mother suffered internal bleeding and damage to her liver.

The names of the victims have not been released but the family is understood to be from London. The driver was thought to be 37 years of age.

Police in Dubrovnik said that the occupants of the black BMW 3 series sedan were all British nationals and the car carried UK number plates.

Initial reports from the scene suggest that the car struck a concrete verge at the side of the D-8 Adriatic coast road that leads into the popular resort and veered into the path of a road maintenance truck travelling in the opposite direction.

The 46-year-old driver of the truck, from Dubrovnik, was also injured and was taken to hospital.

Pictures from the scene showed the significant damage to the BMW, which was all but destroyed in the accident. The single carriageway was closed in both directions for several hours while emergency services treated the survivors and cleared the damaged vehicles.

Toys belonging to the family's children could be seen strewn across the road.

A police spokesperson said that a public prosecutor as well as officers were investigating the cause of the crash. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident in Dubrovnik, Croatia and we are in contact with the local authorities. We stand ready to provide consular assistance."

About 400,000 Britons visit Croatia every year, according to travel association Abta – a figure that has been steadily rising in recent years. Many drive the almost 1,400 miles from London to popular destinations such as Split or Dubrovnik.

More than 11,600 collisions take place in the Balkan country every year and there were 393 road deaths in 2012 in Croatia, which equates to 8.9 road deaths per 100,000 people, according to the department for transport. The equivalent figure for the UK is just 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

The number killed on Croatian roads was a third lower in 2010 than the figure for 2001. More than 6,000 deaths were recorded during that period.

Congestion and speeding are common problem along the Adriatic coastal routes, which are well known for their blind corners, sharp bends and often-absent safety barriers.

Europe's roads have become considerably less hazardous in recent years, with the number of deaths falling from almost 55,000 in 2011 to about 26,000 last year.