Boat breaks loose and crashes onto Spain’s A-7 motorway in bizarre Malaga incident

Drivers on Spain’s A-7 motorway near Malaga got a rather unexpected obstacle on Sunday when a boat came loose from its trailer and ended up in the middle of the busy road.

The bizarre incident happened at around 1pm on August 9 near El Palo, as the boat was being transported along the A-7 in the direction of Almeria.

Boat comes loose during braking for speed camera

According to Spanish reports, the boat became detached from its trailer after the towing vehicle braked. The location was approaching a notorious speed camera for giving out fines, a common spot where drivers familiar with the road are often seen hard braking, and the sudden slowdown appears to have caused the load to come loose.

Once it landed on the motorway, the boat was struck by several passing vehicles, turning an ordinary Sunday journey into a very unusual traffic accident.

At least four cars were involved, according to local reports, with the boat hitting several cars. Damage was also reported to the vehicle that had been towing the boat, including damage to its windscreen. Remarkably, nobody was injured despite the boat landing directly in the path of motorway traffic.

Two-kilometre traffic jam on A-7

Emergency services and road maintenance crews were called to the scene, while Guardia Civil traffic officers dealt with the incident and worked to keep motorists away from the wreckage. One lane of the A-7 had to be closed while the boat and damaged vehicles were removed.

Traffic quickly built up behind the accident, with reports of around two kilometres of congestion on the approach to Malaga in the Almeria direction.

Drivers using the A-7 through El Palo are no strangers to delays. The busy coastal motorway carries heavy local and tourist traffic, particularly during the summer months, and previous incidents have caused lengthy queues.

Spain’s DGT provides live traffic information and motorway camera images for drivers planning journeys on the A-7. For drivers who witnessed the incident, however, the biggest surprise was unlikely to have been the traffic. Seeing a boat sitting in the middle of the A-7 must have been quite a sight.