Abba drummer dies after falling into villa's glass door

(EPA/Roger Schederin)

A former drummer for the Swedish pop stars Abba was found dead with neck wounds in the garden of his house on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Police said an autopsy showed it was an accident.

A neighbour found the body of Ola Brunkert, 62, on Sunday evening. A Civil Guard spokesman said Brunkert's head hit a glass door in his dining-room, and the shattering glass cut him. He wrapped a towel round his neck and left to seek help, but collapsed in the garden.

Brunkert had lived in the coastal apartment complex of Betlem in the municipality of Arta, in the eastern part of Mallorca, for 20 years. His wife, Inger, died less than a year ago.

Benny Andersson of Abba described the drummer's death as tragic. Another band member, Bjorn Ulvaeus, said Brunkert had been "one of the best", adding: "I remember him as a good friend when we worked together in the mid-1970s. He was a very creative musician who contributed a lot when we toured together and worked in the studio."

Abba, with the four regular members Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Ulvaeus and Andersson, was one of the world's most successful bands, with album sales of more than 370 million. The group broke up in 1982, but still sells nearly three million records a year.