Coach in horror plunge from viaduct: Two passengers seriously hurt after tour bus carrying US punk band overturns and falls 30 FEET down embankment

• Nine passengers were on board the coach when it left the road at 11.30am
• The coach was carrying members of punk band Baroness
• Two band members are recovering in hospital
• Baroness gig in Southampton, scheduled for tonight, has been cancelled
• Crash was at junction of Brassknocker Hill and the A36 in Bath, Somerset
• Injured were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and Royal United Hospital in Bath

Two people were seriously injured and seven others were hurt when a tour bus carrying an American punk band left the road and fell 30ft from a viaduct today.
The coach was carrying nine people, including musicians from the band Baroness, when it fell down an embankment.

The crash happened at the junction of Brassknocker Hill and the A36 Warminster Road in Bath, Somerset.

Crash: The wreckage of a coach which fell 30 feet over a viaduct in Bath. All nine on board were taken to hospital

Several people were injured and some were trapped in the accident which is understood to have happened in heavy rain

Emergency crews battled to pull the injured and shocked passengers to safety

The band - John Baizley, Peter Adams, Matt Maggioni and Allen Blickle -  had played a gig in Bristol and were en route to the Talking Heads music venue in Southampton when the crash happened.
Two members of the band, who grew up together in Virginia, are now recovering in hospital.
Tonight's show in Southampton has been cancelled. It was due to be the last date of a UK tour before Baroness played gigs in Belgium and Germany.
The band has opened for rock band Metallica while on tour in 2010.
A spokesman for the band said: 'It is with great regret that we have to inform you that Baroness were involved in a very serious road accident earlier

Musicians: Members of the American punk band Baroness were on the coach when it crashed

'Our thoughts are with the band at this time and we wish them and their crew a speedy recovery.'
A spokesman for the Talking Heads venue said: 'I can confirm that Baroness were involved in a traffic accident today.
'As a result of this they have cancelled this evening's scheduled event.
'Everyone who had purchased a ticket for the event will be able to claim a full refund.'

The crash happened in heavy rain at about 11.30am.
Two people who were trapped in the wreckage - the driver and a passenger - suffered serious injuries and had to be rescued by firefighters.

Police, firefighters and the Highways Agency remain at the scene, where yellow, numbered markers have been placed across the road.

The coach skidded through a fence and plunged onto the road below

It is believed the black and red coach came down the hill at the T-junction and plunged across the road.
The coach came to a standstill with its wheels still on the ground, taking with it foliage and tree branches, which now cover the roof of the vehicle.
A safety barrier on the A36 was broken in the crash and remains hanging over the private road below.
Coach seats and bits of wood from inside the vehicle have been pulled out and all of its windows have been smashed.

Mechanic Richard Kelly, 24, who works at the nearby Greenfuel Co garage, said: 'It looks like the coach has gone through the traffic lights, skidded through a fence and fallen onto the road below.
'It's a sheer drop. The coach managed to land on its wheels - but it was a mess.
'The front of it was completely caved in and there was a lot of damage to the back too.

Two of the injured people on board the coach were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol

A total of 12 fire engines rushed to the scene, with dozens of fire fighters on board

'There were paramedics on the scene treating people with serious injuries.'
One witness, from the Angel Fish restaurant on the viaduct, told BBC News she could see the coach on its side.
'The coach has overturned and fallen off the viaduct at the traffic lights on the A36,' she said.
The fire service said the two people who were trapped were released from the single-decker coach by firefighters using hydraulic cutting equipment.
Two of the injured people on board the coach were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol while seven others went to the Royal United Hospital in Bath, an ambulance service spokesman said.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police appealed for witnesses and asked for motorists to avoid the area.
She said the coach left the road just before the Limpley Stoke Bridge and went down an embankment.
'Emergency services remain in attendance at an incident involving a coach at Brassknocker Hill in Bath,' she said.
'Nine people were on board, including the driver, and all have been accounted for and have been taken to hospital.'

Emergency: Three people were feared to be trapped and two were seriously hurt today in a coach crash at this viaduct in Bath

Crash: Witnesses said the coach overturned after falling off the viaduct in Bath, Somerset

Seven of those suffered minor injuries, the spokesman confirmed.
'Roads remain closed in the area to allow investigations to take place and motorists are asked to remain patient, as this may have an impact on traffic in and around the area,' she added.
'It is hoped the road could open later this afternoon.'
A spokesman for Avon Fire Service said dozens of firefighters were involved in the rescue.
He said: 'It would appear that a 52-seater single-storey coach was travelling down Brassknocker Hill.
'For reasons that are not yet known, the coach failed to stop at the bottom of Brassknocker Hill, travelled across the A46 and left the road, dropping around 30ft below, coming to rest near a canal.'
The spokesman said 10 appliances from the service attended and were assisted by two appliances from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

   

'There were nine passengers on board the coach, seven of whom were out of the vehicle when emergency services arrived," the spokesman said.
'Two people, including the driver, were trapped in the wreckage.
'Firefighters used special hydraulic equipment to release the two trapped people, who were then taken into the care of the ambulance service.
'It is understood that these two people suffered serious injuries. All nine passengers were taken to hospital.'
A Great Western Ambulance Service spokesman said the alarm had been raised by a paramedic who had been driving past between jobs.
'At 11.26am we received a call reporting a coach had left the road at the viaduct on Brassknocker Hill, Bath,' the spokesman said.
'A GWAS officer came across the incident and a further six ambulances, two paramedics in rapid-response vehicles, our hazardous area response team, staff from the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the critical care team from the Great Western Air Ambulance in response vehicles - as the weather was too severe for the aircraft to fly - and two doctors attended.

'There were reported to be nine people on board the coach and our staff assessed all occupants and provided any required treatment before and while en route to hospital.
'Patients are being taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.'