‘Drunk’ boat driver arrested for manslaughter after killing Brit, 43, riding on jet ski with partner in Costa del Sol

A "DRUNK" speedboat driver has been arrested after his boat crashed into a jet ski and killed a Brit woman.

The 43-year-old woman was riding a jet ski with her partner in Costa del Sol on Saturday evening when she lost her life.

Police said the speedboat crashed into the jet ski at 7.25pm on Saturday, at a beach called Los Toros - just west of the popular Spanish holiday resort of Estepona.

The speedboat was driven by a friend of the couple's - who failed a breath test after the horror crash - authorities added.

A spokesperson for the Civil Guard in Malaga said: “I can confirm the dead woman is a 43-year-old British national.

“She was a passenger on the jet ski.”

The woman is believed to have died on the scene.

Another police source said: “The jet ski was being driven by her partner.

"They appear to have been hit from behind by a friend at the wheel of a speedboat.

“He failed a breath test after the collision so he’s likely to have been arrested but that is not something I can confirm at this stage.”

The Civil Guard confirmed today the driver of the speedboat had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

A spokesperson said: “The Civil Guard made the arrest.”

According to local outlet Diario Sur, the man has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

It was not immediately clear this morning when the unnamed detainee will appear before an investigating magistrate.

The court hearing, where the judge will have to decide whether to remand the suspect in custody or release him on bail pending an ongoing criminal probe, will take place behind closed doors.

Court officials have been approached for comment.

Well-placed sources confirm the woman’s partner was also British and in his late forties.

They said the man arrested was not British, but were unable to specify his nationality late this morning.

A spokesperson for Manilva Town Hall said local town hall-employed police were at the scene, as well as Civil Guard officers.

But he explained that details about any arrests and the cause of the collision would need to be released by the Civil Guard.

A Manilva town hall source said: “I know the dead woman was English and 43 years of age and I’ve been told that the people on the jet ski and the speedboat were family and friends but that’s all the information I have.”

A spokesperson for the regional emergency response centre earlier said: "The Civil Guard went to the scene with coastguards who mobilised a boat called Gadir and emergency medical responders.”

It comes as a woman lost her life in April last year after her jet ski crashed off the coast of the island of Gran Canaria.

The 28-year-old reportedly lost control over the jet ski, which veered into the rocks of a breakwater.

Emergency services reported that the woman was in cardiac arrest, but CPR was not enough to resuscitate her.

She was pronounced dead on the scene.

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