One man killed and 18 injured after coach with Rangers fans crashes

The crash happened on the A76 at the Crossroads roundabout near to Bowhouse Prison on Saturday at around 1.15pm.

One passenger said the coach “swerved” at the roundabout and the bus landed on its side on a grass verge.

According to reports, the coach was travelling to Ibrox Stadium, where Rangers were due to play Partick Thistle.

A total of 36 people, plus the driver, were on board at the time. Earlier, police said three people being treated in hospital were in a serious condition.

Ryan Rowe, from Darvel, East Ayrshire, was driving to work when he passed the crash scene.

He said: “It must have happened just five minutes before I got there.

“Within two minutes the fire service, ambulance and police all turned up.

“There were still people trapped inside.

“One man I spoke to was just sitting down and in tears and he was shaking.

“He said the bus had swerved.

“Another young man had cuts all over his arm and blood all the way down it. He was holding it in the air to try and stop the bleeding.

“Two or three windows on the bus had been smashed and when I was there paramedics were still trying to get people out of the other side that the bus was lying on.”

He said many of the passengers appeared to be in their teens or early twenties.

A screen has been erected around part of the damaged coach.

John Linton, a photographer who was at the scene, said it appeared the coach had either skidded into the verge or caught the camber of the roundabout and been left on its side.

He said: “They have screened it off, so that would suggest there was something pretty bad down there. There’s a screen at the rear end of the coach.

“There were smashed windows and an emergency door at the back was broken.”

Emergency services remain at the scene and the road has been closed in both directions while crash scene investigators carry out inquiries.

Inspector Darren Faulds said: “Inquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the crash and anyone with any information is asked to call road policing officers at Irvine Police Office on 101.”