FOUR people died in two bank holiday crashes in Gwent.

Two Gwent people died in a car crash at a notorious accident blackspot near Abergavenny yesterday evening, while two people believed to be from the Cardiff area died when a plane crashed into a mountainside above Cwmbran yesterday.

A Vauxhall Astra and an Audi estate were involved in the car crash on the A4042 near the Llanellen Bridge, near Abergavenny at, 5.40pm.

A South Wales Fire Service spokesman said that three people were seriously injured and taken to Nevill Hall Hospital, and two others were uninjured. One passenger was thrown from a vehicle and a second had to be freed by fire crew.

The identities of two dead Gwent people have not yet been released while relatives are being informed of the tragedy.

This latest tragedy follows concerns about the safety of the road amid calls for a bypass to be built to reduce the flow of traffic.

In the last three years there have been three fatalities between Abergavenny and Goytre on the A4042.

They include the death of Cardiff father of two Peter Hawkins, 34, on October 8 2000, killed when his motorcycle was involved in a crash on Llanellen Bridge - only weeks after Yugoslavian pensioner Ivan Kostenjevec died when he collided with a motorbike as he crossed the road near Goytre.

Monmouthshire councillor Andre Arkell has renewed his calls for the National Assembly to bypass the road between Mamhilad and the busy Hardwick roundabout, as part of its trunk road review.

Councillor Arkell said: "It is a very narrow winding stretch of road and is particularly dangerous at Llanellen Bridge, which is a humpback bridge, and traffic has to give way from one direction."

Meanwhile, two men were declared dead at the scene of a light aircraft crash on an isolated hilltop above Cwmbran.

The two-seater Piper Tomahawk PA38 was on a routine flight between Cardiff and Leominster when it crashed on Mynydd Maen.

Last night accident investigators including representatives from Gwent Police and the government's Air Accident Investigation Branch were starting the grim task of sifting through the debris.

Police last night confirmed that they were looking into the possibility the men died when their craft struck one of the many electricity pylons on the hillside.

Other possible contributory factors being considered include poor visibility with thick clouds engulfing the area at the time of the crash.

Rescue operations were hampered because the crash site - above the Blaen Bran Reservoirs on the hilltop separating Upper Cwmbran from Newbridge - could only be reached by four-wheel- drive vehicles and helicopter.

Helicopters from RAF Chivenor, in Devon, and the Gwent Police helicopter were involved in the operation.

"The first thing I heard was a low-flying helicopter, which went past my lounge window," said Upper Cwmbran councillor John Cunning-ham, who lives in Ty Pwca Road.

"I went to look where it was going and saw a lot of activity at the top of the mountain." Ian Davies, of Upper Cwmbran said: "Sometimes you can't tell where the top of the mountain is, the mist comes down very low. Whatever happened up there, it's very sad."

Inspector Allyn Richards, of Gwent Police investigation team, told the Argus the initial task of locating the craft was "like searching for a needle in a haystack" after receiving reports the aircraft was missing at 12.45pm.

The remains of the aircraft, which had taken off from Cardiff International Airport, were found around an hour later.

* Anyone with information on either crash should contact Gwent Police on 01633 838111.

* Pictured: The wreckage of the light aircraft which crashed above Upper Cwmbran