Two British women have died, along with eight dogs, in a four-vehicle collision in western Romania. The women, aged 41 and 61, were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel.
Collision involved lorries and minibus
The incident took place on Thursday around 11am on the DN6 national road just outside Vlioara village, in Caraș-Severin county. The crash involved two lorries, a van, and the minibus in which the two victims were travelling.
Police investigations revealed that the UK-registered minibus strayed onto the wrong side of the road and collided head-on with a Romanian-registered lorry, injuring its driver. The lorry then struck another HGV, also registered in Romania, sandwiching the minibus between them. A van travelling behind the second lorry was also caught up in the pile-up.
Women were on dog rescue mission
The women were travelling in a UK-registered minibus carrying 10 dogs, eight of whom died. Their mission was to transport the animals to a new home in France.
A close friend, Claire Dalton, paid tribute to the pair on Facebook, describing them as her "soul sisters". She wrote: "I'm heartbroken... but there are others feeling much worse than me. This breaks my heart more than anything."
Friend's tribute to 'soul sisters'
Dalton continued: "I lost two amazing and beautiful people yesterday in a collision on a Romanian motorway and life will never be the same and I was lucky enough to call them good friends. They were on a rescue mission that was to move 10 of our rescues to safety in France. The most fun, bouncy, full of life, beautiful hearted people I have ever met and I loved them very much."
She added: "They truly were my soul sisters. They were the friends who were simply there - through the good days, the difficult days and all the moments when I wondered how I could possibly carry on. Alison and Rachel were making this incredible journey for one reason: because they cared. They wanted to save dogs and they wanted to make sure they were safe, loved and given the very best chance at a new life in France."
Family and friends left grieving
Following reports of the crash, Allison's daughter Sammie took to Facebook with growing alarm as her mum had stopped responding. Dalton expressed: "My heart breaks for Alison and Rachel's families. I cannot begin to imagine the pain they are going through right now. Sammy has lost her mum, and there are families and people who loved Alison and Rachel whose lives have changed forever in the most unimaginable way."
She concluded: "I am struggling beyond belief to even find the words to speak to anybody at the moment. There are so many thoughts and emotions going through my head that I don't know where one ends and another begins. I feel completely overwhelmed by grief, disbelief and sadness. This was supposed to be a journey of hope. None of us could ever have imagined that it would end like this."
