08/05/2007

M25 crash inquiry to take 'several days'

An investigation into one of the worst crashes on the M25 in 20 years is expected to take several days, Surrey Police have confirmed.

Six people died in the crash, which happened in the early hours of Monday morning.

The crash involved a recovery vehicle, carrying a minibus, and a lorry. The minibus was carrying a group of six men back from a stag party in Leicestershire.

Five of the men, all aged between 25 and 30 and from the Brighton area, were killed in the crash, while a sixth man remains in a stable condition in hospital, suffering from a broken leg and facial injuries.

The driver of the recovery vehicle, understood to be a 46-year-old man from Rugby, was also killed in the crash.

The lorry driver was uninjured.

Commenting on the collision, Chief Superintendent Rob Price, said: "Our thoughts are very much with the families and friends of the six people who died in this tragic crash. This is one of the worst collisions Surrey Police has dealt with on the M25. At this stage it is too early to confirm the exact cause of the collision. A thorough investigation is being undertaken by the Surrey Police Collision Investigation team and it will be a number of days before we will be in a position to release further details."

The recovery vehicle was from Dunchurch Motors. The company released a statement following the accident which said: "This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. We are trying to come to terms with this ourselves. Our thoughts are with the family of our driver and the families of those others affected by this tragic incident. Police are investigating this awful tragedy and therefore we cannot comment further."

(KMcA/SP)

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