All four members of the British band Viola Beach and their manager, Craig Tarry, were killed when their car plunged from a bridge into a canal in Sweden on Saturday. The victims were aged between 19 and 32, according to authorities.
The accident occurred when the rental car they were in crashed through a barrier set up to stop vehicles as a drawbridge was opening up ahead. It was around 2 a.m. when the crash occurred and was at a bridge over a canal in Sodertalje, about 20 miles southwest of Stockholm, according to Martin Bergholm, a Stockholm Police spokesman.
“There were no brake marks on the road and it is very difficult to say how fast the car was going at the time,” Bergholm said. At the time it was dark and the road was slippery, he added.
A truck driver who had stopped at the barrier when the accident occurred estimated that the speed they were in was about 43 or 50 mph, as reported by The Big Story.
British officials were in contact with local authorities and supporting the families at this “very difficult time”, according to a spokesman for the UK’s Foreign Office.
The band was scheduled to present on Saturday night in the British city of Guildford. Viola Beach supposed to have opened for their fellow band Blossoms, due to the tragic news the band announced the cancellation of the concert. Blossoms said via Twitter that they were devastated by the loss of Viola Beach and Craig Tarry. They added that their thoughts were with their friends and families.
Others started to show sympathy as well for the musicians, Theresa Griffin, a member of the European Parliament representing the band’s hometown, tweeted that their deaths were tragic news while she focused on how bright and young they were.
Tarry’s family also released a statement saying that they were devastated by the events and that they are grieving the loss of their son and also for the other families involved in the accident.
Craig Tarry was described by his family as a warm and loving person who had worked tirelessly to achieve success and follow his dreams within the music industry. He will be sadly missed by his family and his colleagues, the statement added.
Source: CNN