Coach Passengers Speak Of Rest And Be Thankful Crash

Passengers on board a coach which left the road and rolled down an embankment in Argyll have spoken of how it finally came to a stop close to a loch.

The vehicle carrying dozens of tourists was travelling on the A83 at the Rest And Be Thankful when it came off the popular route on Thursday.

It is believed that high winds in the area at the time were a possible factor, police said.

A total of 52 people were on board the Lochs and Glens Holidays coach, with 23 taken to hospital following the crash.

Passenger Wendy Bysouth said: People were going up in the air, the glass was breaking, the windows were breaking, the curtains were going and we were getting nearer and nearer the loch.

That's all I can remember, thinking, one more roll and we're in the loch, and it was so, so frightening.''

Fellow passenger Dave Russell added: When it flipped over, I was looking at that water - I thought we were going in and there was no way we would have got out if it had gone in.''

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said 18 people spent Thursday night in hospital.

All were described as being in a stable condition yesterday, apart from one who was in a serious but stable condition at Glasgow's Southern General.

A rest centre in Arrochar was set up to support other passengers, and 29 of them were said to have spent Thursday night at local hotels.

Police, fire and helicopter rescue crews were sent to the scene around 200 yards north of the B828 junction and the road was closed while emergency services treated passengers and investigated the cause of the incident.

Local diversions were in place at the A819 at Inverary and also at the A82 north of Tarbet. The road was reopened and the bus removed from the crash scene on Friday morning.

Lochs and Glens Holidays runs a number of coach trips, mainly in the Scottish Highlands, but picks up passengers across the UK.

The company's Twitter page said the coach was from the Medway Towns area of Kent.

A spokeswoman said: ''We are liaising with the emergency services regarding the injured passengers and to establish the cause of the accident.''