Horror at supercar rally after British millionaire loses control of his £750,000 Porsche Spyder at high speed and ploughs into spectators leaving 26 injured - with five in critical condition
- Paul Bailey was behind wheel of Porsche Spyder as it crashed into a crowd
- The tycoon, 55, was taking part in a charity motor show in Hal Farrug, Malta
- Vehicle clipped grass verge at high speed before careening into spectators
- 26 people were injured with five, including a girl of 6, in critical condition
More than 20 spectators have been injured after a British millionaire tycoon crashed his £750,000 supercar into a crowd at a rally in Malta.
Paul Bailey, from the East Midlands, was behind the wheel of his Porsche Spyder when it clipped the grass at high speed along an unused airport taxiway in the Hal Farrug district of the island.
Witnesses described the 'chaos and screaming' as the car, which has a top speed of 210mph, skidded out of control, careening into the barriers and crowd.
Five of the 26 people injured are believed to be in a critical condition, including a six-year-old girl and the 55-year-old driver.
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Emergency: Dozens of spectators were injured after a British millionaire tycoon crashed his £750,000 supercar into a crowd at a rally in Malta
Witnesses said the back wheel of the car, which has a top speed of 210mph, clipped the verge along the runway's edge and the car skidded out of control, careening into the barriers and crowd
Paul and Selena Bailey (pictured) made their fortune when they sold the communications company they founded for £28million in 2012
Five of the 26 people injured are in critical condition, while at least nine - including the 55-year-old driver - suffered fractures or cuts requiring hospital treatment, officials said
A further nine suffered fractures or cuts requiring hospital treatment, officials said.
According to Malta Today, Mr Bailey, a father of four, was taking part in the annual Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina motorshow when the crash happened at about 2pm.
An eyewitness told Times of Malta: 'The car was speeding down the taxiway when a back wheel went on the grass.
'The car spun out of control, went through the barriers where a large crowd was watching, and into the area of the static car exhibition.
Video has emerged of Mr Bailey driving the vehicle with a companion just minutes before the crash happened
Footage shows the supercar being driven around bollards along the runway and past crowds of spectators just minutes before the accident
Investigation: The rest of the show, which was held under the auspices of Malta's president to raise money for the needy, was cancelled
'Many people were hit, there was chaos and screams.'
Video has since emerged of Mr Bailey driving the vehicle with a companion just minutes before the crash happened.
The rest of the show, which was held under the auspices of Malta's president to raise money for the needy, was cancelled.
Earlier this year it was revealed how the businessman was believed to be the first person in the world to own the 'Holy Trinity' of hypercars - with a combined worth of more than £3million.
Paul Bailey is believed to be the first person in the world to own the 'Holy Trinity' of hypercars. He is pictured earlier this year driving his white Porsche 918 (left) while his wife Selena drives his Ferrari LaFerrari (right) with a friend in his McLaren P1 behind
Paul Bailey, pictured in his white Porsche 918, was behind the wheel of the car when it crashed into spectators at a motorshow in Malta
Mr Bailey, a father of four, was taking part in the annual Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina motorshow
He already owned the £866,000 McLaren P1 and in just one day added a Porsche 918 Spyder and the LaFerrari - tripling his hypercar collection in a matter of hours.
The three vehicles, which all boast top speeds of more than 200mph, are all considered to be 'hypercars' - top-tier cars whose features, price and rarity sets them apart from 'regular' supercars.
Mr and Mrs Bailey, whose home in Rutland is believed to be worth more than £1million, made their fortune when they sold the communications company they founded for £28million in 2012.
It is understood that Mr Bailey, 55, boasts a collection of some 30 supercars.
Medics walk past the crumpled wreckage of the car. The Porsche 918 Spyder was one of the first super-hybrid supercars - using a combination of a 4.6-liter V-8 engine with a hybrid electric drive system
Dozens of spectators were left injured after the car hit a grass verge and smashed into the crowd
Ambulances rushed to the scene after the crash and medics rushed a number of casualties to hospital
The Porsche 918 Spyder was one of the first super-hybrid supercars - using a combination of a 4.6-liter V-8 engine with a hybrid electric drive system that brings total output to 887 horsepower.
The battery of the plug-in hybrid can be fully charged in less than seven hours from a standard household socket - or in less than 30 minutes with the optional fast charger on an industrial circuit.
At the time, he described his fleet of hypercars as 'totally amazing'.
He said: 'I have been waiting, in real terms, about two years for the LaFerrari. Early images of these cars were snapped and emotions rose as delivery dates came closer.
PAUL AND SELENA BAILEY: THE MILLIONAIRE CAR ENTHUSIASTS
Paul and Selena Bailey made their fortunes when they sold their phone-conferencing business in 2012.
The couple each held 45 per cent of the private shares in Worldwide Group Holdings, which was bought by telecoms firm Daisy Group for £28million.
Paul and Selena Bailey (pictured) made their fortunes when they sold their phone-conferencing business in 2012
Founded in 2001, Worldwide Group, whose branding has since disappeared, specialised in call-handling for phone conferences, including providing free-phone numbers to conference members in different countries.
It had contracts with some of the largest players in the conferencing market, and in 2011 made £4million of earnings on revenues of £36.4million.
Paul is now believed to be running Horsepower Racing UK.
'I was offered one of the first five UK cars but these did not have the level of personalisation that I have had. This is the first UK car with full personalisation and it was worth the wait.
'I live a very surreal life and being the first to own all three does not feel real. This is why I want to use and share the cars with enthusiasts.
'It is too early to say which is the best as they are all totally amazing. I will be able to better comment when I have driven them back to back on the race track.'
The battery of the plug-in hybrid can be fully charged in less than seven hours from a standard household socket - or in less than 30 minutes with the optional fast charger on an industrial circuit
Mr and Mrs Bailey are pictured taking the wraps off their La Ferrari - one of only 499 that will be produced
- [WATCH] PORSCHE SUPERCAR LOSES CONTROL, 26 SPECTATORS INJURED AT PAQPAQLI SHOW | Update 7 – Five in critical condition at ITU • Girl, 6, among victims • President of the Republic: ‘I wanted to cry’ - MaltaToday.com.mt
- 26 injured, five critically, as supercar crashes into crowd at Paqpaqli motorshow - timesofmalta.com
- Porsche 918 4 10 2015 - YouTube
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