Minibus driver's crash 'regret'

Around 40 of those on board the coach were injured

The minibus driver charged over a fatal coach crash in Austria has told a UK newspaper of his sorrow and regret ahead of a ceremony for the victims.

Retired trucker Johan Prettenthaler, 70, told the Times: "I would do anything to turn the clock back."

Austrian police believe the overtaking minibus forced the coach off the road on Tuesday near the town of Hallein.

Five Britons died. Their relatives and injured passengers will attend a ceremony in Hallein on Friday.

Mr Prettenthaler has been charged with causing the death by negligence of the five Britons.

Nothing I could say could properly express my shame Johan Prettenthaler, in the Times Family mourn Austria crash victim In pictures: Austria bus crash

He is alleged to have overtaken the tour bus on a blind corner on a mountain road, causing the coach to somersault down an embankment.

In Friday's Times, Mr Prettenthaler said: "I am so sorry and I deeply regret what has happened.

"I would do anything to turn the clock back, to be given the chance to change the course of events.

"Nothing I could say could properly express my shame and I am frightened about how I am being judged in the eyes of the survivors.

"I keep turning the events around in my head and thinking about how things could have turned out differently."

Return to scene

The five dead, from the south of England, were among a group of 49 on board the coach, 42 of them Britons.

The coach left the road and rolled three times down a bank

The coach driver Martin Faulhaber returned to the scene on Thursday to light a candle for the victims.

Mr Faulhaber, 39, said he found it hard to sleep at night because the crash had been so upsetting.

"It is very, very hard for me to come here, but I had to come here to burn a candle for the victims," he said.

Mr Faulhaber, who lives 25 miles away in Salzburg, had been driving many of the passengers around all week and described the victims as "friends".

The dead Britons have been named as David Hamilton, 33, of Dorset; Marian Ashby, 80, and her son Robert Ashby, 60, of Hatfield, Hertfordshire; Clare Patel, 39, of Amersham, Buckinghamshire; and Rebecca Earland, 16, of Tonbridge, Kent.

Forty-two people were injured and 13 have been discharged from hospital.

The Foreign Office has set up a 24-hour emergency number - 020 7008 1500 - for members of the public to contact if they think they may have had friends or relatives involved in the crash.

A hotline opened by tour organiser Inghams can be reached on 020 8780 6600.