Band Cancels Gigs After Tour Bus Crash

Members of a US punk rock band and their crew are recovering in hospital after their tour bus plunged over a viaduct in heavy rain in Bath.

The band, Baroness, from Savannah, Georgia, were touring Britain and Europe when their coach crashed through a safety barrier and fell 30ft.

Emergency services said two people, including the driver, were trapped in the wreckage. They were cut free and, having suffered the most serious injuries including multiple fractures, were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.

According to Great Western Ambulance Service, the other seven suffered more minor injuries and were taken to Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Baroness's line-up consists of John Baizley, Peter Adams, Matt Maggioni and Allen Blickle. They played in Bristol last night and were travelling to a gig at the Talking Heads in Southampton when the accident happened at the junction of Brassknocker Hill and the A36 in Bath at 11.30am.

A spokesman for the band said: ''Baroness were in a serious bus accident last night near Bath, England. The band members and crew are recovering at local hospitals. All tour dates are postponed until further notice.''

Site manager Tony Cook, 61, was one of the first people to arrive as he was working at a property at the bottom of Brassknocker Hill. When he and some of the other workers got to the coach they found the driver hanging out of the front window, Mr Cook said.

After helping him out the driver told them there had been a problem with the steering.

''At the top of the hill it is quite windy so they were going quite slow and seemed to be taking it quite carefully,'' Mr Cook said. ''It was torrential rain. It was like one of these eastern storms or something, it was like a river down here.''

The temporary road closures around the scene of the crash have been lifted, Avon and Somerset Police said later. ''Motorists are thanked for their patience while the emergency services dealt with this incident,'' a spokesman added.