Two British women died in a four-vehicle collision in Romania on Thursday while transporting rescue dogs to a new home in France. The victims, aged 41 and 61, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics in Caraș-Severin county, western Romania.
The crash involved two lorries, a van and the minibus the women were travelling in. The minibus, registered in the UK, was carrying ten dogs, eight of which also died.
Friend pays tribute to 'soul sisters'
Claire Dalton, a close friend of Allison Condon and Rachael Harvey-Purkiss, paid tribute on Facebook, saying she 'cannot comprehend' the loss of her 'soul sisters'. She wrote: "I'm heartbroken... but there are others feeling much worse than me. This breaks my heart more than anything."
In a further post, she described the women as "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."
Crash details emerge
The fatal crash occurred around 11am on the DN6 national road just outside Vălișoara village. Police enquiries revealed the UK-registered vehicle went on the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on into a lorry registered in Romania, whose driver was injured. The lorry then hit another HGV, also registered in Romania, trapping the minibus between them. A van travelling behind the second lorry was also involved in the pile-up.
After seeing news of an incident on the road, Allison's daughter Sammie posted on Facebook with concerns as her mum wasn't answering. Claire said: "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."
Claire added: "This was supposed to be a journey of hope. None of us could ever have imagined that it would end like this."
