Authorities have recovered the wreckage of a four-wheel drive after it plunged over a steep cliff at a remote WA beach, killing two men and seriously injuring a third.
Matthew Farr and Louis Eeles, both 22, died when the Nissan Patrol crashed over the cliff in the early hours of Sunday morning, about 10km north of the small coastal community of Horrocks in WA's Midwest.
A friend, aged 21, was seriously injured when the car fell more than 20 metres down the steep incline, but managed to climb the cliff face and raise the alarm.
He has been transferred to Royal Perth Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.
Midwest Police Superintendent Steve Post said the vehicle had been retrieved, with some difficulty, from the remote location.
Mr Post said it was now in Geraldton, and would be be subject to a thorough investigation by the Major Crash Unit.
"We're looking for causes for the accident, if there was anything other than [it] just being an accident," he said.
"If there were any mechanical failures, things like the state of the seatbelts, the state of the brakes, those kinds of things that may have contributed to the deaths of these two gentlemen."
Mr Post said questions around signage, access to the area, and other safety measures would also be looked at.
"It will be a matter for the coroner and will no doubt form part of the findings for this inquiry as to why that happened and whether signage may have prevented this tragic incident from occurring at all," he said.
It was hard to say how long the investigation would take.
"If it's relatively straightforward, it might be a matter of a couple of weeks, but if there's some more detailed vehicle examinations that need to be done … that can go into the months," Superintendent Post said.
The men had been camping with another three friends in the Horrocks area when they decided to go for a drive.