Five dead in a terrible accident near Gaillac in Occitanie: the car hit a plane tree before catching fire

An extremely violent shock. In a press release, partly posted online by France 3 Occitanie, the Tarn prefecture confirms that the terrible traffic accident which occurred this Sunday in the early morning between Gaillac and Lisle-sur-Tarn is due to a impact against a tree, as the first information suggested.

The car hit a plane tree before catching fire, shortly before 5 a.m. The toll was very heavy: 5 dead, 4 of whom were inside the vehicle still burning when help arrived. The fifth passenger, a 20-year-old according to The Dispatchwas found 20 meters from the impact site. He would have been ejected from the passenger compartment.

Vitesse excessive ?

For the moment, we do not know what caused this exit from the road with terrible consequences. “It’s a long straight line lined with plane trees. But we have no information on the origin of this accidentconfides Patrice Drilhole, the general director of services at Gaillac town hall, to our colleagues from France 3. Speed, mechanical fault, an animal… Difficult to say at this time. We don't even know if the victims are Gaillac residents. Identification is difficult.”

The mayor of the town, Martine Souquet, contacted by France Bleu Occitaniebelieves that the car, a rental Renault Captur, was traveling at excessive speed.