// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Police officers killed in wrong-way crash mourned in 'unimaginable loss'
Watch: Cleveland Police names the two officers who died in crash near Middlesbrough
Two police officers killed in a wrong-way crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough have been remembered as "brave officers protecting our communities" in what has been described as an "unimaginable loss".
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died when a car driving the wrong way struck a Cleveland Police vehicle at 03:39 BST on Saturday.
Five people in the Volkswagen Passat said to be in their late teens to early 20s were also killed. They have not been named.
The BBC understands a police pursuit of the car had ended before the crash, with the police vehicle just happening to be in the South Bank area.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now investigating.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said on Saturday it was an "incredibly sad day for Cleveland", adding: "No one should leave their home and not return safely."
Fuller said she and her deputy chief constable visited the officers' families to "offer our condolences, support one another, and begin to come to terms with this unimaginable loss".
Politicians, including the prime minister and home secretary, have remembered the officers, with Andy Burnham saying he was "devastated" by the news.
Tributes have been left near the scene of the crash