Heavily pregnant mother and 8-year-old killed in Spanish rally horror

Six people have been killed, including a pregnant woman and an eight year-old child, after a rally car veered from its set route at a Spanish rally car event and crashed directly into spectators. The horrific accident happened at an event just outside the city of La Coruña in the north-west of the country.

The rally car involved was a Peugeot 206 XS with a number 39 racing livery on its door. According to local reports, the car was being driven by local man Sergio Tabeayo Sande, nicknamed Tisi, who was in the car with co-pilot Luis Miguel Prego. Both are said to have escaped serious injury but are now being treated for the psychological effects of the accident.

The car was judged by Spanish police to have exceeded the speed for the rally circuit and was pictured on a television broadcast running into the spectators at La Rally de la Coruña in a cloud of dirt and dust. Some of the 16 injured are understood to be in a critical condition and have been taken to the local La Coruña‬ University Hospital Complex. The death toll from the accident is expected to rise, according to the Spanish authorities.

The heavily pregnant woman has been named as Ana Cayazzo who was due to give birth tomorrow (7 September). She and her unborn child were killed instantly alongside her partner Miguel Caridad.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has already expressed his condolences to the families of the dead on social media site Twitter. He said that the rally had been "tinged with mourning" and gave his "heartfelt condolences for those killed".

Twitter user @Nepareizais posted Vine video footage of the accident on Twitter: "#crash Rally car leaves road, kills 6 in Coruna #Spain"

The accident took place at around 8pm (7pm BST) on Saturday, 5 September, in the municipality of Carral. The rally has now been suspended while the Spanish authorities examine the crash scene. Up to 140 spectators are understood to have been at the event.

The race had occurred without serious incident since 1982 was organised by the Escuderia La Coruña‬ group. A black ribbon adorned the organiser's Facebook page last night.