Couples killed in Croatia had travelled together for 30 years without accident
Families of victims visit the site of the tragedy
The two Maltese couples killed when their car plunged into the sea in Croatia last Thursday had been travelling together for more than 30 years and had never experienced a single accident.
The victims – Jeremy and Lorraine Gambin and Kevin and Sandra Bonnici – were lifelong friends, and the men were cousins who regularly holidayed together across Europe and beyond.
“They were not only cousins but best friends who travelled all over the world together. They’ve driven around together for tens of thousands of kilometres,” Justin Gambin, one of the victims’ sons, told Times of Malta.
The fatal crash occurred on the D8 state road near Bunica, close to the coastal town of Senj, when their rented car struck two stone barriers and fell some 70 metres into the sea below.
Croatian emergency divers described the recovery operation as one of the most difficult they had ever carried out.
Family members paid their tributes on the site of the tragedy on Monday.Relatives of the victims, including their children, are currently in Senj, where on Monday they laid flowers near the crash site in memory of their loved ones.
In their first comments to the media since the tragedy, the Gambin and Bonnici families expressed deep gratitude to the Croatian authorities and local community for the “incredible support” shown in the aftermath of the tragedy.
All the victims’ personal belongings have since been returned to the families who are now waiting for the autopsy results.
Meanwhile, questions have been raised about the safety of the D8 road, where certain stretches lack adequate barriers to prevent cars from plunging into the sea below.
"While the stone bollards along the road may appear protective, they were likely insufficient to prevent a vehicle from veering off the road,” said Jonathan Gambin, whose 68-year-old brother was among the victims.
Gambin said the family hopes that further investigations into the accident will bring some kind of closure.
The tragedy shocked Malta and is believed to be the highest death toll of a crash involving Maltese nationals abroad.
It came almost exactly a month after another Maltese couple, Doris and Manuel Buhagiar, were killed in a car crash in Sicily.