Tributes paid to Brit band Viola Beach after five die in Sweden crash

Handout photo taken from the Twitter account of @jholsson of British rock band Viola Beach who have died, along with their manager, after the car they were travelling in plunged more than 80ft into a canal in Sweden. (Picture: @jholsson/PA Wire)

FOUR members of British indie band Viola Beach and their manager have died when their car plunged into a canal in Sweden.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that five British nationals died in the accident on Saturday, and are in contact with their families, while tributes have been paid to the five on social media.

Viola Beach - whose members were Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin - and their manager Craig Tarry died in the incident in Sodertalje, 18 miles from the capital Stockholm on Saturday.

The five men, aged between 20 and 35, were killed after their vehicle went through the barrier of a bridge which had opened to let a boat pass underneath, plunging more than 80ft into the canal below.

Tributes from the world of music were paid to the group, from Warrington, Cheshire, who had played the Swedish music festival Where is the Music? on Friday.

British band The Enemy wrote: “RIP Viola Beach and their manager. Such incredibly tragic and sad news. Thought with the friends and families of all involved x.”

James Skelly from The Coral wrote: “So sorry to hear about viola beach and Craig tarry’s accident. So sad, their families must be devastated.”

Ross Jarman, from Wakefield band The Cribs, said his “heart goes out to the Viola Beach guys and their families”.

A badly damaged car is towed up from the canal under the E4 highway bridge in Sodertalje, Sweden, Saturday, Feb.13, 2016. Swedish police say five people have been killed when their car plunged more than 25 meters (82 feet) from a highway bridge into a canal in the capital of Stockholm. (Picture: Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

The up-and-coming band were on tour and due to play a string of dates at venues across the UK. They were scheduled to play at the Boiler Room in Guildford on Saturday but the gig was cancelled.

The group had been included in the line up for this year’s Live at Leeds festival in April.

Live at Leeds posted on Facebook: “We are absolutely devastated to hear the news about Viola Beach and their manager this morning. Our thoughts and love are with everyone affected by this tragedy.

RIP x”