Four members of the British indie band Viola Beach and their manager died in car crash in Sweden

The five men, aged between 19 and 35, died during their first International tour. Their car hit a road barrier and plunged more than 25m (82ft) off a bridge into a canal at the E4 motorway bridge at Södertälje, southwest of Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday February 13th.

Swedish police said they were called to the incident at about 2.30am and divers recovered the bodies of the victims. The bridge, at a junction between the E4 and the E20 motorways, has a middle section that rises directly upwards to allow boats to pass underneath, leaving a gap that the rented Nissan Qashqai fell through, police said.

“A barrier 50 metres before the opening has flashing lights and warning signs. For some reason, the car drove through the barriers and crashed down into the canal. The witnesses just saw a car beside them and kind of disappear.” Inspector Martin Bergholm said:

Hours before the accident, a photograph of the car the band are believed to have fatally crashed in was posted on Facebook. The picture is understood to show 19 year old guitarist River Reeves leaning against a black Nissan Qashqai smoking a cigarette.

It’s thought the photo was taken after the band and their manager Craig Tarry, 32, collected the car from a rental firm at the airport, Swedish media reported.

River was killed in the crash along with band members Kris Leonard, 19, Jack Dakin, 24, and 27 year old Tomas Lowe as well as their manager Craig Tarry, 32, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Families, friends and fans of the band have paid tribute to the four musicians and their manager.

In a statement, the family of River Reeves said:

“We are all heartbroken following River’s tragic death and the circumstances which have seen him lose his life alongside the band-mates and manager he adored and loved being with.

“Viola Beach were on such an exciting journey and River could not have been happier. He would have loved to have stuck around for the party.

“All River wanted to do was perform and entertain and to think that he will never make us laugh again with his ridiculous impressions and cheeky banter is beyond comprehension for all his family.”

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said:

“We can confirm that five British nationals died in a car accident in Sweden on February 13. We are in contact with local authorities and supporting the families at this very difficult time”.

Friends and fans of the band have paid tribute to the four musicians and their manager.