SODERTALJE, NEAR STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (Reuters) — Five men, which Swedish media reported were the four members and manager of the rock band Viola Beach, were killed when their car crashed in Sweden early on Saturday (February 13) morning.
Police confirmed the men found dead in a canal in Sodertalje near Stockholm were aged between 20 and 35 and were from Britain.
Swedish broadcaster SVT reported the victims were Viola Beach band members Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin, and their manager Craig Tarry.
Their car plunged 26 meters from the motorway into the canal when a bridge was open.
“What happened the other night around 2 o’clock was that a car drove through the barriers on the motorway bridge at Sodertalje. They continued after driving through the barriers and this led to them ending up in the canal under the bridge,” police spokesman Martin Bergholm said on Sunday (February 14).
Earlier in the day another police official said the investigation had shown that there was no problem with the barrier. “It was down and the lights were on. Other cars had stopped by the barrier.”
The band came from Warrington in northern England. It was in the Friday (February 12) night line-up at the ‘Where’s the Music’ festival in Norrkoping, south of Stockholm.
Viola Beach recently recorded a session for broadcaster BBC and was due to play at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, next month, according to their Facebook page.
