A Hungarian tourist is fighting for his life after his car ended up in the seam between two boats at the Msida marina early yesterday morning.

Varga Ferent, 29, was driving his grey Opel Astra at around 3.45am along the Msida promenade towards Valletta when he lost control of his car metres away from the popular Busy Bee coffee shop.

His car, which had Hungarian licence plates, hit a Honda Jazz parked along the promenade, pulling off its front bumper and smashing the mudguard and right headlamp. The car then careened on to the quay and toppled headfirst into the water, between two berthed boats.

The noise attracted the attention of neighbours who immediately called the police.

A passer-by quickly jumped into the water to try to help the man out of the car.

A constable who arrived on site also jumped into the sea to assist Mr Ferent.

However, it was only with the help of civil protection officers that rescuers were able to extract the man from the car.

Mr Ferent was rushed to hospital in an ambulance where his condition was found to be critical.

It was not yet clear what caused the accident as a number of tests, including toxicology, still had to be completed.

The authorities contacted the Hungarian consul to inform his family and relatives.

In May last year, a woman was trapped in a car which crashed into the sea at Gżira yacht marina.

Her condition was critical but she eventually took a turn for the better.

A similar incident in December 2011 ended up tragically when a Gozitan off-duty police officer died when his Hyundai crashed into the sea at Ċirkewwa terminal.

He was about to drive onto the Gozo ferry but somehow turned the wrong way and drove through an open gate down a ramp into the sea. Barriers were set up after the incident.