Three young Menorcans were killed during the early hours of Sunday morning in a high-speed car crash on the ME-1 freeway between Mahón and Alaior.

Crash scene investigators estimate that the car was travelling at around 200km an hour when the driver lost control, sending the car - a VW Golf - rolling down a bank at the side of the road before bursting into flames after hitting a garden wall.

The maximum speed limit on the island is 90km an hour, rising to 110km an hour for overtaking.

It is suspected that a lit cigarette may have caused the car's petrol tank to explode.

A man who lives near the crash site tried to extinguish the flames with a garden hose.

A fourth youth - identified as Ángel Román Vives (20), who was asleep when the crash occurred - survived after being thrown clear, and is recovering at the Mateu Orfila Hospital in Mahón.

The three victims have been identified as: the driver, Alex Barber López (20), who worked in a local hinge factory; Ricard Rotger Vivent (18), a student at Barcelona University and son of a woman who works in the island's Traffic department; and Andreu Palliser Triay (20), who worked for the Bobinajes Borrás company.

It seems that the four friends were on their way back home after enjoying a night out in Puerto de Mahón, which is around 12km from where the accident occurred.