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Palma emergency teams were prepared for the worst yesterday as they rushed to the scene of a horrific accident on the Via Cintura, the Palma ring road. Shortly after 1.15 pm, the 112 emergency switchboard was jammed with scores of motorists calling in on their mobile telephones to report the accident involving a Citroen and a Mercedes. It appears that the Mercedes hit the central reservation on the bend just after the Can Blau tunnel in the direction of Arenal, with the Citroen crashing into its side. Chaos broke out on the ring road within minutes, a number of drivers immediately behind the two vehicles involved in the crash had to slam on their brakes, all narrowly avoiding each other in the mayhem. Firemen, ambulance teams and the Guardia Civil were at the scene within minutes, but a traffic jam over a kilometre long had already banked up with drivers on the other side of the road slowing down and stopping to have a look at the accident. The middle-aged female driver of the Citroen was trapped in her vehicle, but despite the mangled wreck of the car, was still alive, although seriously injured. The occupant in the Mercedes miraculously escaped, suffering only from concussion. Firemen using hydraulic equipment and cutting devices battled against the clock to cut the woman free from the Citroen while police tried to get traffic moving. After 45 minutes, the roof of the Citroen was eventually sliced off and the victim, suffering severe head injuries and respiratory problems, was rushed to hospital. Two industrial cranes were brought in to clear the wreckage and by 2.15 a massive clean up operation was under way. Medical sources said last night that the victim was in a very “delicate” condition and that the next few hours were crucial. The cause of the accident has yet to be confirmed, but crash investigators were at the scene last night and a number of eyewitnesses were being questioned by traffic police.