A motorist who died late on Monday was taking part in an illegal car race, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Christ Gatt, 24, of Mtarfa, died on the spot after his BMW crashed into a concrete pillar at the mouth of the Kirkop tunnels, having apparently clipped a centre strip and careened across the road.

"Thank God there was nobody on the other lane as the consequences would have been far worse," a source close to the investigation told Times of Malta. 

A passenger in the car was injured and hospitalised after the 9pm accident. 

Christ Gatt was killed in the accident. Photo: Facebook

The other cars taking part in the race drove on without stopping, the sources said.

The Civil Protection Department was alerted to the accident and its rescuers pulled both men out of the wrecked vehicle. 

A magisterial inquiry is underway and the police are investigating. 

Meanwhile tributes have been paid to the victim on social media. 

His cousin Edeleisha Cassar said he was a "very kind" person, who had been there "in good times and in bad".

The committee who organise the Good Friday procession in Luqa shared their condolences to his family, and a picture of Gatt taking part in the event.

And a friend from school, Charlot Spiteri, described him as a person "with a kind heart and always with a smile on his face". 

He was the fourth person to die on Malta's roads so far this year. 

Italian motorcyclist Danilo De Dominicis was killed on January 23 after crashing into the wall of the Tal-Qroqq tunnels. 

A 24-year-old pedestrian, Gauri Kumari Baral, died six days after she was hit by a pick up truck on January 6.

Malta's first crash victim of the year was Alejandro Brincat, 25, from Mtarfa, who was killed when his car smashed into a tree on the Mdina road in Attard, also on January 6.