East Lothian man dies after minibus overturns

A man who died after a minibus overturned in the Scottish Borders has been named as Ross Jones Barker from East Lothian.

Ross Jones Barker of East Lothian. Picture: Police Scotland

Man who died after minibus overturned is named by police

Ross, aged 59 from Port Seton, was travelling to Kelso with 22 other passengers and the driver in a private minibus on Saturday.

The bus overturned while travelling on the A6089 between Carfraemill and Gordon around 10.50am. Ross was very sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Of the 23 other men also on board, aged between 24 and 75, fourteen were taken to Borders General Hospital, eight to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and one was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow.

Six remain in hospital with serious injuries, but all are considered stable at this time.

The road was closed in both directions until 9pm to allow the Road Policing Unit to conduct investigations at the scene and for the vehicle to be recovered.

An investigation remains underway to establish the full circumstances surrounding this.

Chief Inspector Steven Duncan of the Lothians & Scottish Borders Police Division said: “This has been an outing among friends and associates which has turned into tragedy.

“Our sympathies are with Ross’ family, who have respectfully requested privacy during this terrible ordeal as they try to come to terms with their loss. Our thoughts also remain with all those injured and their families.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, who provided vital help in responding to this incident.

“We’re also very grateful to the NHS, Scottish Borders Council and the public for their support of officers and all those affected.”