TWENTY-SIX pupils were taken to hospital after a bus carrying 44 pupils to a Lanarkshire school toppled into a ditch outside the school.
Firefighters who rushed to the scene put out a fire in the vehicle’s engine before it took hold after the bus flipped on a steep hill in Dowanfield Road near Our Lady’s High School in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, at around 8.45am, yesterday.
A major incident was declared and 29 ambulance service units went to the scene, alongside police and the fire service. No serious injuries were reported. However, 26 pupils were taken to hospital as a precaution and later released.
One girl was taken by ambulance to Wishaw General Hospital, while 14 patients were taken to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and 11 to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
Ashleigh Douglas, 30, of Ravenswood, Cumbernauld, was going to the shops with her five-year-old daughter Esther when she saw the bus go down the embankment.
She said: “It’s a very dangerous road. It leads down to the football pitches at the bottom. I saw the bus turn the corner and it clipped the kerb. It looked like the left-hand wheel had caught fire and then all of a sudden it went over the embankment. Luckily, Esther never saw anything and just saw the police arrive.”
The white bus could be seen lying on its side down an embankment near a tight bend in the road, which was closed while emergency services dealt with the incident.
It was later lifted from the site of the incident by a tow truck as police continued their investigation into what caused the accident.
Our Lady’s High head teacher Danny McNulty thanked the emergency services for their “speedy response”. He said none of the pupils was seriously injured, and a number had been taken for treatment to hospital “as a precaution”.
“I would like to thank the emergency services for their speedy response this morning, and the entire school community who pulled together at this difficult time to support one another,” McNulty said. “Our parents, staff and chaplain have been a valuable support to our young people at this time.
“We are planning to hold assemblies this afternoon to update our staff and pupils on the situation and to thank them for everything they have done today.”
Education Secretary John Swinney praised the response of emergency services.
He said: “While it is welcome news that nobody has been seriously hurt in this incident, it must have been a terrifying experience for those involved. I am sure everyone connected to Our Lady’s High School and the wider community will be grateful to the emergency services.”
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