Dorset tunnel landslip: two bodies recovered from mud engulfed car Beaminster tunnel on 17 July as a digger is used to clear landslide mud near the entrance. Photograph: Emma Hallett/PA A couple killed in Dorset when a landslip engulfed their car had cut short a restaurant meal and were hurrying home because they were concerned about the torrential rain. The man and woman died when tonnes of mud, rubble and vegetation crushed their car near the Beaminster tunnel, which was closed on 7 July due to the landslip. The silver Skoda the couple were travelling in lay undiscovered for nine days under hundreds of tonnes of debris at the entrance to the tunnel on the A3066. It is not known if the pair were killed instantly or survived the initial impact. Police confirmed on Wednesday that they had recovered two bodies from the mud-filled car. They appealed for anyone who saw the vehicle travelling from Beaminster towards the tunnel between 9.30pm and 10.30pm on 7 July to come forward. Officers have not formally declared the identity of the couple. However police sources have confirmed that the woman is believed to be Rosemary Snell, 67, who had recently moved from London to a cottage in Somerset. On that Saturday evening she was dining with her male companion at the Bridge House Hotel, in Beaminster. The pair used to visit the hotel three or four times a year and had previously dined there on Valentine's Day. Jane Fox, who served the couple, said: "It was a very atrocious night. She was concerned about the weather. She said, 'we'll skip coffee because we really want to get off'. That was about 10.05pm and we think the landslide occurred at about 10.10pm - so it was a matter of a few minutes. If they had the coffee they would still have been here. They were delightful, especially her - she was very effervescent and outgoing, a true lady. It has been a great shock for all of us. They were a genuinely nice couple, who were always very chatty and interested in each other. She always appeared immaculately dressed, they were simply a pleasure to serve and have as our guests. Fox said shortly after the couple left the restaurant, kitchen and reception staff left work but by that time the landslip had occurred and they were forced to turn back on the road, unaware that Snell and her partner had been caught in the mud and rubble. Dorset police have defended themselves against accusations that they could have found the couple sooner, saying the area was searched after the landslip happened and that there was no sign of a car. They also said emergency services had been dealing with many hundreds of incidents on the day because of the weather. Police became concerned for the couple when the man's family raised the alarm. Detectives used phone and bank card records to pinpoint their final movements, ending at the landslip.