Six Maltese tourists holidaying in Sicily had to be treated in hospital after the van they were in was involved in a head-on collision with a car on Thursday.

A total of nine people were involved in the crash, including three men and three women from Malta. The three Maltese couples are expected to start returning to Malta on Friday evening.

One woman suffered a broken hip while other passengers suffered injuries including a broken jaw, fractured elbow and fractured shoulder, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

The accident, which was reported in the Sicilian media, happened on via Peppino Impastato between Pozzallo and Modica.

Italian media reported that the van carrying six Maltese tourists collided head-on with a Volkswagen T-Roc in which there was a driver and two passengers. The car’s front passenger suffered serious injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to the Cannizzaro di Catania hospital.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said three of the Maltese people were taken to the Ragusa hospital.

These were a woman who suffered an elbow fracture and who was told she can only travel back to Malta in an air ambulance, a man who suffered a fractured shoulder, and another man who is in a stable condition. 

The other three Maltese tourists were taken to the Modica hospital and included a woman with a broken jaw and swollen leg, a man who has since been discharged, and a woman who needs hip surgery.

Talks are underway between the Maltese and Italian health authorities for the woman to be brought back to Malta via air ambulance. The spokesperson said the Maltese Embassy in Rome and the consul in Syracuse have been in constant contact with the Maltese tourists.