Two couples who died in horror Croatia car plunge named

Updated October 4, 11am

The two couples who died when their car plunged into the sea while they were on holiday in Croatia have been named. 

Jeremy Gambin, 68, and his wife Lorraine, 67, who lived in Swieqi, died alongside Kevin Bonnici, 67, and his wife Alexandra, 66.

They were travelling together on the scenic Adriatic Coast when the car they were in veered off the road and into the sea on Thursday afternoon.

Reports from Croatia suggest the driver may have become ill while driving on the coastal D8 state road. 

Jeremy Gambin was a well-known basketball coach at Luxol and former player who represented Malta at the 1987 Games of Small States of Europe in Monaco. He was also a PE Teacher at St Michael’s Foundation.

He and his wife Lorraine, whose official name is Cynthia, had three children and several grandchildren.  

Kevin Bonnici worked in the cab business and served as a company director of two separate Y-Plate fleet firms. He previously worked for Air Malta in the airline's finance, flight ops and engineering departments. He and his wife Alexandra had two children and various grandchildren.  

Desperate rescue attempt

Police said the vehicle, travelling from Rijeka towards Senj, is believed to have lost control on a left-hand bend, veered right, struck two stone barriers and fell around 70 metres down a ravine before ending up in the water.

Police officer Jasmin Mujaković, among the first at the scene, removed his uniform and dived to a depth of 16 metres in repeated attempts to open the badly damaged vehicle, but was forced back by water pressure. 

One woman’s body surfaced hundreds of metres from the car, while the other three victims were retrieved from inside the vehicle.

The car was recovered on Friday. It had to be towed to a nearby town to be lifted to shore and a diver involved in the recovery operation described it as one of the most difficult of his career. 

The foreign ministry expressed condolences and said it is liaising with Croatian authorities. 

Tributes

A daughter of Jeremy and Lorraine Gambin posted a brief but heartfelt tribute to her late parents on Facebook. 

"Our family was truly blessed and lucky to have our beautiful parents in our life and we couldn’t have asked for more. I’ll forever be proud to say I’m their daughter," Ilona Busby wrote.

She said there was some comfort in knowing that her parents had died together, "doing what they loved best with two of their favorite friends and travel buddies."

She thanked those who had offered support and said funeral details would be provided at a later stage.

Matthew Bonnici, whose parents were killed in the crash, also paid tribute to them on social media. 

"I lost my super heroes. My heart is broken. I could write a book about you but even that wouldn’t be enough," Bonnici wrote. 

"The only ray of light in all of this is that they were together, doing what they loved, with people they loved. Being positive in this time is hard but if they deserved anything, it was to always be together, as they have been, through it all."

Bernard Schranz, who knew both couples, described them as "four special people".  

"My memories of both couples are of two happily married couples, still loving despite the test of time and always smiling and cheerful," he wrote. "We have lost four special people and the heavens have gained four angels. May they rest in peace." 

Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat noted that both families lived in the town and were active within the community. 

"Jeremy and Lorraine Gambin, and Kevin and Alexandra Bonnici, were exemplary parents who were very fond of their families and they were also active residents in the locality," he said as he offered their families his condolences.

Deputy mayor Jordan Galea Pace said that a minute of silence was observed during Ġieħ is-Swieqi ceremony on Friday evening in honour of the four victims. 

"Lorraine was a loved and active member of our community who regularly attended our activities while Mr Gambin, my former coach at St Michael's Foundation, was always a respected man," Galea Pace said.

The Malta Basketball Association expressed its condolences "to the families and friends" of Jeremy Gambin and Kevin Bonnici, who were both former basketball players. 

Luxol Basketball described the two as "part of the Luxol family as teammates, colleagues, and parents" and offered their families condolences. 

A photo posted by Luxol Basketball club.