Bus Crash On The A83 In Argyll 'So, So Frightening,' Passenger Says

Passengers Describe Bus Overturning And Narrowly Avoiding Loch

Ten people remain in hospital following a crash in which a coach rolled down an embankment near a loch.

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

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

Twenty-three of the 52 people on board the Lochs and Glens Holidays coach were taken to hospital following the crash.

On Saturday, ten of them were still being treated in hospital, with one in a serious but stable condition at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, where two others are in a stable condition.

The scene after the crash

The three patients at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow and four patients at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley are all in a stable condition, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said.

Some of the passengers earlier spoke of their ordeal, describing what happened as the bus came off the road.

Wendy Bysouth told BBC Reporting Scotland: "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."

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 put 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.''

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