Today's funeral for the four young people killed yesterday in a traffic accident in Toques (A Coruña) turned into a mass mourning for the people of Friol, their home town.

According to official figures, some 2000 people came to the municipal sports centre, the improvised funeral chapel, to pay their respects to the families of the deceased.

17 vehicles were later required to take the coffins and all the flowers to the respective cementeries.

The four victims, aged between 25 and 29, were all travelling in the same BMW on their way back from a party in nearby Melide.  The driver of the vehicle survived the accident but is in hospital with serious injuries.

The car left the carriageway on a curve and then fell 20 metres before hitting a huge tree.  When the emergency services arrived, the driver was outside the vehicle already, but the remaining victims had to be cut from the wreckage.

Police will be recreating the accident using all the forensic evidence collected at the site, but initial reports suggest that the driver lost control due to excessive speed.  The road in question is full of twists and turns and has a speed limit of 80kmph.