British bikers die after motorcycle crash on A-8 motorway during an afternoon of intense rain in north of Spain

It was a black day on the A-8 motorway in the Asturias region municipality of Llanes, in the northwest of Spain, where during an afternoon of heavy rain on Monday two British motorcyclists died in an accident - a 65-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man.

The couple were travelling on a motorbike towards Oviedo when, for unknown reasons, the bike skidded onto its side in the middle of the carriageway at kilometre point 300 and vehicles following behind were unable to avoid them.

The accident happened just a few metres from the turn-off to the villages of Balmori, Porrúa, Posada and Celorio. The alert to the 112 Asturias emergency services coordination centre was received at 5.29pm. A mobile intensive care unit from Arriondas was sent to the scene of the accident, but could only confirm the death of the couple. The Guardia Civil and a crew from Llanes fire station were also deployed.

Motorway traffic was diverted to secondary roads while firefighters recovered the bodies and police took charge of the formalities for their removal from the scene. Investigations into the cause of the road accident are ongoing.