13 March 2011 Last updated at 06:21 ET

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra cancels rest of Japan tour

A musician on tour in Japan with the BBC Philharmonic captures the moment the earthquake struck

A BBC orchestra caught up in the Japanese earthquake is cutting short its 17 day tour of the country.

Ninety musicians with the Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic experienced the tremor travelling on a coach from Tokyo to Yokohama.

A message on its Twitter page said: "We have booked the orchestra on early flights home, the rest of our concerts have been cancelled."

It was scheduled to perform 10 concerts but cancelled its last four.

The orchestra's coach was crossing a suspension bridge when a powerful earthquake rocked the east side of the country.

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck about 80 miles (130km) off the Pacific coast of Japan, triggering a huge tsunami.

The orchestra left Manchester on 1 March and was due to return on 17 March.