MADRID: Spain’s Civil Guard said two of its officers were killed and two others injured on Friday after their boats collided while chasing suspected drug traffickers in the Atlantic.

Spain’s proximity to Morocco, a major producer of cannabis, puts it on the frontline of anti-drug missions, with fatal accidents regularly occurring in chases between police and traffickers.

The Civil Guard said the accident happened off the southern province of Huelva. Two officers died — one instantly and another later, two were seriously hurt and another lightly injured.

A “shocked” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent his condolences on X.

The Civil Guard’s main AUGC union said in a statement that the tragedy was “the direct consequence of a situation of risk that was documented, analysed and formally conveyed to the administration, which chose not to act”.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026