Ibrox Stadium, home of Glasgow Rangers Football Club
Ibrox Stadium, home of Rangers Football Club Reuters

A bus carrying Glasgow Rangers fans to a game against Partick Thistle at the Ibrox stadium in Glasgow has crashed, leaving one dead and others seriously injured, Ayrshire police confirmed on Saturday afternoon. The incident happened just outside Kilmarnock.

The coach, which was carrying fans from Nithsdale Loyal Supporters Club, appears to have overturned into the headgrow on the side of the road. The cause of the crash is unknown.

More from IBTimes UK

It took place at the Crosshouse roundabout at around 1:15pm. The scene was attended by multiple emergency services units from across Ayrshire, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said on Saturday, and the road was closed. They later confirmed that a 39-year-old man had died, the BBC reported.

Local reports on social media described a number of passengers as "walking wounded", while others had been stretchered off the scene of the crash.

A supporter of bitter Rangers' rival Celtic, tweeted: "As a Celtic fan I sincerely hope no one is hurt and all fans are safe.Some things are more important than football."

According to the Daily Record, one woman said her mother had been on the bus and, along with others, had to smash through the emergency window in order to free themselves. Meanwhile radio station Heart Scotland tweeted that a young boy had to be cut from the vehicle and was airlifted to the local Crosshouse hospital.

Ayrshire police later confirmed in a statement that 18 people were taken to hospital as a result of the crash, three of whom were in a serious condition. In total, there were 36 people on the bus, plus the driver at the time of the incident, they said.

Launching an investigation into the crash, Inspector Darren Faulds from the Road Policing Unit encouraged any witnesses with information about the crash to come forward. He said: "Enquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the crash and anyone with any information is asked to call road policing officers at Irvine Police Office on 101."