Elderly passengers hurt in A9 coach plunge

The driver and 33 passengers escaped serious injury in the crash, two miles south of Dalwhinnie, in Inverness-shire.

The accident, which also involved a lorry, happened as the Shearings private-hire coach was travelling from Dornoch, taking the group back to the north of England.

The coach left the road and plunged 7ft down an embankment, coming to rest on its side on a cycle path and just a few feet from a burn.

Firefighters had to cut out the front window and dashboard to release the driver and allow the passengers to escape.

The 62-year-old driver was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, but later discharged after treatment for minor injuries.

A man and a woman were taken to Perth Royal Infirmary but were also released later.

Six men and four women were checked out at Kingussie Health Centre and four were later transferred to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, including an 86-year-old woman, though none had life-threatening injuries.

All were expected to be discharged last night.

The rest of the group were picked up by another Shearings bus and taken to a reception centre set up at a hotel in Newtonmore to recover from their ordeal with help from police and social services staff.

Some of the party left for home last night and the rest are due to leave today.

A Shearings spokesman said company representatives were with the passengers. He added: "Shearings will ensure passengers are transported home at the earliest opportunity. Shearings would like to thank all emergency services and hospital staff for their hard work today. We have an excellent safety record in Scotland, transporting over 60,000 passengers there in 2009."

The Wigan-based company has set up a helpline for concerned relatives of those on board the coach.

A police accident investigation team was called in to examine the circumstances of the crash, which caused major delays on the Inverness-Perth trunk road.

The coach was heading for Stretton in Warrington with 17 men and 16 women on board. One car driver who saw the accident but did not wish to be named said: "The bus just seemed to veer to the left and disappeared down a hill.

"The driver looked to be in a bad way, but everyone escaped through the front windscreen."

Another witness said: "The bus went off the road and dropped down the embankment. It ended up lying on its side across a marked cycle path. Most of the people on the bus were walking wounded, but I suspect there would be a few broken bones and bumps and bruises.

"They were elderly and a bit shocked, I think. They were all put on another bus and taken back north."