5 hours ago
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Five people have been taken to hospital, two with serious injuries, after a doubledecker bus carrying sixth-form college students crashed into a river in Hampshire.
About 14 others were treated at the scene after the bus came to rest upright in the River Itchen.
Police said two of the five had serious but not life-threatening injuries and the driver was among those taken to hospital.
Members of the public helped emergency workers rescue the students on the bus, who were from Barton Peveril sixth-form college in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
The bus’s front windows were smashed and the windshield wipers were hanging from the vehicle. The driver’s cab was filled with mud, while water reached halfway up the wheel arches.
Passengers were evacuated through side windows and emergency workers cut away railings to allow them to get back to the road.
James West, who lives close to the scene of the crash, said: “It sounded like a bomb, that’s the best description. Bits of the bus ended up in our garden.
“I think he [the driver] was a bit of a hero in all honesty, because he could’ve taken out cars, houses. He could’ve taken out pedestrians.
“We could hear a lot of distressed people on the bus. My wife went down the back of the garden and helped people get out.”
Insp Andy Tester, of Hampshire police, praised the courage of those who helped. “There was a lot of bravery shown by many people who were first on scene, who didn’t have training to work in water and weren’t equipped,” he said.
“We believe that everyone, every passenger on the bus, was a student heading to Barton Peveril college. Their families have been notified.”
He added: “There’s no indication at the moment as to why the bus left the road. We have to do a thorough examination of the scene, and then there’s a complex recovery of getting the bus out of the river.”
At least five ambulances were sent to the road where the incident happened and air ambulances were scrambled.
A spokesperson for South Central ambulance service said: “We have sent multiple units to the incident including five ambulances, two helicopters, and specialist response units.”
A spokesperson for the college said: “We are aware of an incident involving the college 607 bus. College staff are working closely with the police to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students.
“We ask that people do not attend the actual scene. For concerned parents, an incident centre has been established.”
Richard Tyldsley, the general manager of Bluestar Bus, said: “Reports suggest the bus left the highway and came to rest in a shallow river.” He said the bus driver was injured.
Scott Agass, the father of a 17-year-old who was on the bus, said: “I think they are all out. He said he was sitting there with a blanket and a monitor on his finger. He doesn’t really know what happened or what caused it. I suppose it just happened so quick. All he saw was that it crashed and gone in the river.”
