Viola Beach: Indie band's driver 'plunged off bridge intentionally', say Swedish police

'We can’t find any secondary explanation,' officer says

Police say the driver had no alcohol or drugs in his blood (Reuters)

Swedish police are reportedly investigating whether the driver of the car carrying British indie band Viola Beach deliberately drove off a bridge, before the vehicle plunged into a canal.

Four members of the group died in the incident along with their manager, Craig Tarry, in Sodertalje, near Stockholm.

The identity of the driver is yet to be revealed, although investigators said he had no alcohol or drugs in his blood.

Lars Berglund, one of the police investigators, told Aftonbladet: "We can’t find any secondary explanation.

"It looked like the driver acted deliberately."

Aftonbladet viewed CCTV footage of the incident, which they said showed the band's black Nissan QashQai overtaking two vehicles and using the hard shoulder before crashing through the barrier - which was closed while the bridge was raised to allow an oil tanker ship to pass in the canal underneath.

The car broke through a further barrier, hit the partially lifed bridge before plunging around 25m into the canal.

Mr Berglund later insisted he had been misunderstood, telling Buzzfeed he was not implying the driver had deliberately crashed the vehicle with the intention of killing those inside it.

“He was driving with full consciousness," he said.

"I believe myself that he could have been confused, or looking at his mobile phone or talking to someone in the car. That would explain why he missed the warning signs.

“He could have had glass in his eyes after the car crashed into the first barrier, explaining why the car continued on.”

Remembering the car crash victims at Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur football match (Reuters)

Mr Berglund added: "From what I can see, most of them died when the car hit the bridge."

The rental vehicle was almost new and had no apparent faults.

Witness Kent Udden told Aftonbladet: "We didn't see any brake lights. When he passed the first barrier, it would have been obvious that this is something you shouldn't pass.

"We saw no signs that he was slowing down."