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Coach crashes off the A83 Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll

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Passengers are led off the coach after it crashed on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll

More than 20 people have been injured - five of them seriously - after a tour coach came off the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll.

The coach, owned and operated by Lochs and Glens Holidays, went down an embankment and came to rest near a small loch at about 14:10.

It is thought that 32 people were on board. Five passengers are being taken to hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. About 20 others are "walking wounded".

BBC presenter Euan Mcllwraith, who is at the scene, said emergency services cut the side off the coach to help passengers inside. "Although there have been injuries, and serious injuries, these people are very, very lucky," he told BBC News.

Police said five people were being taken by Royal Navy helicopter to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. They have serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.

An RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth is also at the scene along with a mountain search and rescue team. The A83 is closed and a lengthy diversion is in place, along the A82.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We have multiple resources responding to an incident on the A83 involving a coach at the Rest and Be Thankful. These include ambulance crews supported by officers, a Special Operations Team, an air ambulance helicopter and two emergency medical retrieval teams, working alongside the Police and Fire Service."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Lochgilphead, Arrochar and Inveraray were on the scene.