Man held after four die as car plunges into reservoir in Wales

A fifth person, the female driver, survived the accident which happened at the Bwlch y Gle Dam, Clywedog, Llanidloes, mid Wales, yesterday afternoon.

The woman, a holidaymaker who has not be named, was last night in hospital.

She had been at the wheel of a Peugeot 807 that plunged into the water at about 2.30pm yesterday.

Police said the car had been in collision with a Ford Mondeo on the B4518, a twisting road between Llanbrynmair and Llanidloes which is noted for its steep ascents and declines.

It remained closed last night while emergency teams were at the scene.

A Dyfed Powys police spokesman said: “A local man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is in custody at present.”

A Sea King rescue helicopter from RAF Valley, in Anglesey, joined emergency services in the wide-scale rescue operation launched after the alarm was raised.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was alerted to the incident by police and two fire crews and two boats were involved in the operation.

Police said the occupants of the Peugeot were all believed to be members of the same family, from Pontypridd, in South Wales.

A woman who works in a nearby car showroom said she had heard one car had clipped another.

“We saw lots of police cars going past, ambulances and two recovery boats.

“The story is one car clipped another and one went into the dam.

“They have closed the road, it’s a B-road, it’s not somewhere where spectators can go.”

The area where the crash happened is rural and largely made up of farming communities.

Last night, police said the body of one man had been recovered from the Peugeot, which remained submerged in water.

“We can also confirm that the woman holidaymaker driving the Peugeot managed to escape from the car and is now receiving medical attention – but tragically four other occupants of that car have been killed.

“The body of a man has been recovered from the car – but the other bodies remain submerged and arrangements are being made to recover them.”

He said the road had been closed and would remain so for some time.

He added: “We are in the process of informing next of kin, and no further information in relation to the victims will be released until this process has been completed.”