Family tributes to crash victims

The youngest of the victims, Karl Devlin and Alex Williams, were best friends

Families have paid tribute to the four men who were killed when a car plunged over a cliff at a quarry in south Wales.

Alex Williams, 21, and his best friend Karl Devlin, 19, both from Newport, Jack Magee, 47, and Shane Powell, 29, died in Wednesday's accident near Crumlin.

Meanwhile, Gwent Police said they were examining the BMW car.

Mr Devlin's family said his loss "will be felt by many people".

"Not only was he an extremely caring and loving son to us but a good friend to many," said the statement from his parents and brothers Mark and Andrew.

"He was well liked - and seemed to know everyone and was known by everyone in the area, including Alex Williams, his best friend."

"We would like to thank everybody for their kind support at this difficult time. "

Mr Williams' family said he was "everyone's friend".

"He was a loving son, a loving brother, a loving uncle and a loving nephew. He will be sadly missed and always loved by everyone who knew him."

The family also thanked the emergency services for their help and two men who helped assist at the scene.

Mr Powell's father Fred said the family, from Pontypool, were "devastated".

"Shane was a wonderful son." said Mr Powell.

"He was willing to help anybody and he will be truly missed by myself and my family."

Mr Magee's brothers Edward and Robert called him "a very much-loved brother, friend and son and always will be".

It took more than 24 hours to recover the car from the quarry

Police said the fact that the car was adapted for Mr Magee, "may well be" a factor in the tragedy. The BMW had hand controls fitted to enable Mr Magee, a wheelchair user from Aberbeeg, to drive it.

The car smashed through a concrete barrier and fell down a near-vertical slope at the disused Monks quarry at Swffryd.

It took more than 24 hours to retrieve the car from the quarry, and Gwent Police hope it will provide clues to the cause of the crash.

Gwent Police head of traffic Superintendent Nigel Russell said: "We've managed to recover the vehicle so we are hoping that will give us information on what caused this tragic incident.

"We are hoping that most of the clues will come from the examination of the vehicle.

"It was wet and it was raining but at this stage we don't know whether speed was specifically a factor in what has happened.

"The vehicle has been considerably damaged but we are hoping to get as much information from it as we can.

"We will work with the manufacturers to see if we can recover anything from the electronic management system which may give us some indication as to what has happened.

"(The car) had been specially-adapted because of the circumstances the driver found himself in, so that also may well be a factor in it."

Accident investigators have also carried out road tests to try to simulate the accident.