Double-Decker Bus With Students Onboard Plunges Into River in England
A double-decker bus carrying high school students plunged into the River Itchen in southern England on Thursday morning, injuring several and prompting a major emergency response.
The vehicle was en route to Barton Peveril Sixth Form College in Eastleigh when it suddenly veered off the road and crashed through roadside barriers into the water.
All 19 passengers were rescued or able to get off the bus, though the driver and four students were taken to the hospital. Two of them, including the driver, suffered serious injuries but are expected to recover.
Fourteen other students sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by paramedics. Emergency services responded quickly, with two helicopters, five ambulances, and fire crews rushing to the scene.
Witnesses described a harrowing situation. Kelly West, a nearby resident who helped students to safety, said she heard screeching sounds moments before the crash.
She reported that the driver told her the brakes had failed and the accelerator was stuck, leaving him unable to stop the bus. The vehicle had been traveling at nearly 60 miles per hour, she said, and the students inside feared for their lives.
“The bus was just getting faster and faster,” one student told West. “They didn’t know what he was going to do.” Police Inspector Andy Tester said the crash “must have been terrifying” for those on board.
The bus came to rest upright in the shallow river, its front windows shattered and mud streaked along its sides. A section of the bridge’s railing was missing where the vehicle had broken through.
The bus company, Bluestar, said it is cooperating with authorities and that the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
