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Two married couples die in canal car crash

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Two married couples die in canal car crash
The Volvo was lifted from the Wesel-Datteln-Kanal in the early hours of Sunday morning. Photo: DPA

Two men and two women died on Sunday evening when their car crashed into a canal in western Germany. The 74-year-old driver is believed to have had a heart attack before the accident.

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The car broke through the railings on a bridge over the canal in Datteln, North Rhine-Westphalia, and hit the water at 6.50pm.

Emergency service workers found three bodies in the wreckage of the vehicle and another was discovered nearby.

The victims were a 76-year-old man from Dortmund, his 70-year-old wife and a couple from Waltrop, both aged 74, a police spokesman confirmed.

The 74-year-old man was driving the Volvo and police said in a statement on Monday a preliminary investigation showed he had a medical emergency at the wheel.

According to the WAZ newspaper, this emergency was a heart attack. 

The Volvo was lifted out of the water with a crane and floats in the early hours of Monday morning.

A police spokesperson said the crash appeared to have been caused by a "chain of unfortunate circumstances". 

The investigation is continuing. 

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