Four people have been taken to hospital after a school bus carrying 43 school pupils and a driver overturned in a field in County Down on Monday.
Photographs on social media showed children in uniform walking from the blue doubledecker bus, which had a shattered windscreen.
The Northern Ireland ambulance service (NIAS) indicated most of the passengers had suffered “minor injuries if any”, such as cuts and bruises, with eight people requiring more serious medical treatment.
In a later update, it said most were well enough to be discharged at the scene, which is near the towns of Donaghadee and Newtownards.
A spokesperson said: “Following a road traffic incident this afternoon in the Carrowdore area, the NIAS declared a major incident, based on the number of resources required to attend the incident.
“Initial reports indicated that approximately 70 people were onboard the bus. This figure has been revised to 43 and a driver.
“NIAS has assessed and treated patients at the scene, with four currently requiring further treatment at hospital.
“The remainder have either been, or are in the process of being, assessed with a view to discharging at the scene. As this remains an ongoing incident, NIAS will provide further updates as appropriate.”
Dylan Lee, 12, a year eight pupil at Strangford Integrated College, suffered minor injuries in the crash.
Speaking to the PA news agency at the scene, where he had been joined by his mother Stacey Lee, he said: “I was on the top deck on the right-hand side. I was just sitting with my friend: he is fine, he just hurt his arm.
“The bus hit a post and it started to stall and went down this hill. It just started shaking. I closed my eyes and then I opened them and I was on the floor.”
He added: “The first thing I did when I got up was to phone my mum.”
His mother said Dylan had a lump and a cut on his head, adding: “I could hear him screaming that he had crashed and I could hear all the kids in the background screaming. It was awful.”
Dylan added: “Then there was this guy came down with a hammer and the windows were all being smashed so we could get out. I was crawling under stuff like railings and school bags and stuff.”
Local councillor Peter Wray said: “I don’t believe any of them [the injuries] are incredibly serious. The school are asking parents not to go to the scene … they are encouraging parents to go to the school.”
The Ulster Unionist councillor said the incident did not involve any other vehicles. He added: “I think there was also some buses that were potentially behind, so some pupils will have seen this. As well as the people directly [affected], it could also cause some stress for other pupils or other people who have seen this incident and have been distressed by it.”
Local SDLP representative Will Polland said concerns had been raised multiple times about the road where the crash occurred.
The incident happened at about 3.45pm. The Police Service of Northern Ireland described the incident as a “serious road traffic collision”.
Source: www.theguardian.com