Nine injured as car crashes into a campsite in Pembrokeshire

Two of the victims are said to be in a serious condition in hospital

BBC
Sam Montgomery

By Sam Montgomery


Published: 13/08/2023

- 12:34

Updated: 13/08/2023

- 13:21

Two of the victims are said to be in a serious condition in hospital

Nine people have been injured after a car lost control, veered off a road and crashed into a campsite.

The blue Ford Fiesta, carrying a number of passengers, ploughed into people and a tent at Newgale campsite on the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.


Two of the victims are said to be in a serious condition in hospital, with passengers in the car among those injured.

The car is believed to have been travelling from the village of Roch towards St Davids when it crashed off the A487.

The beach at Newgale, Pembrokeshire.The beach at Newgale, Pembrokeshire.

Newgale Campsite's owner told reporters that the car caused "carnage" when it hit a ditch, rolled into a tent and over a group of people late on Saturday night.

Mike Harris noted that a baby in one of the tents only escaped serious injury because it was in a cot.

The car was being driven by a young individual who had recently achieved his driving qualification in June, the Pembrokeshire Herald reported.

Mike Harris told the local paper: “There are no fatalities and from what I understand none of the injuries are life-threatening but I would say some are certainly life changing.”

He added: “It happened at 10:38pm, I had left the campsite four minutes earlier and didn’t hear or see anything.

One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff

BBC

“My staff heard the screaming and informed me immediately while they called the emergency services.

“I think they first thought there would have been fatalities and that’s why there were so many emergency vehicles here."

Dyfed Powys Police said on Sunday: “The road was closed to allow investigations and reopened at around 7.45am today.

“Officers are appealing for any information regarding the vehicle, a blue Ford Fiesta, and its occupants.

“We are especially interested in any dash-cam footage or doorbell footage which may have captured the vehicle being driven from Roch to the scene of the collision at Newgale.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service told the Pembrokeshire Herald: “We engaged six emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager, one Cymru high acuity response unit. Additionally, our personnel were aided by the emergency medical and retrieval transfer service and a search and rescue helicopter.”

One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff by a Coastguard rescue helicopter, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.

Four of the casualties were taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, and another person was transported to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital.

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