Two Britons airlifted to Palma after crash

Fourteen Britons were treated in hospital yesterday, two for serious injuries, after the coach in which they were travelling, was involved in a collision with a car in Minorca, came off the road and flipped on its side in the early hours of yesterday morning. A total 27 people were injured - the 25 British passengers, 15 tourists and seven travel representatives for tour operator Airtours with their families, the 35-year-old coach driver and the driver of the Renault Megane involved in the accident. 13 of the tourists were treated in Minorcan clinics, but two women were airlifted to Palma by helicopter and admitted to intensive care at Son Durete hospital and the Clinica Juaneda. 39-year-old Tina Holmes was still in intensive care yesterday afternoon at the private clinic being treated for head injuries, as was 38-year-old Geraldine Tracy at Son Dureta. Medical sources said that both women were in a stable condition and that the injuries suffered were not life threatening. By late yesterday afternoon some of the 13 British tourists treated in Minorcan clinics were ready to be discharged, but doctors decided to keep everybody in hospital over night and release the patients at the same time today. The majority suffered cuts from broken glass and whip lash. The accident happened shortly after midnight yesterday morning along the road between Mahon and Ciutadella near Es Pla de Alaior. According to the Guardia Civil, the coach was approaching a “T” junction near Es Migjorn when the car suddenly appeared in the path of the coach - it appears that the driver of the car failed to obey a stop sign and drove into the path of the coach. In a bid to try and avoid the vehicle, the coach driver braked hard and tried to manoeuvre the coach around the obstacle.