Major incident declared after school bus flips over on M53 leaving up to 50 pupils injured - one with major trauma

29 September 2023, 11:22 | Updated: 29 September 2023, 11:41

Up to 50 pupils injured after a school bus flipped over in rush hour on the M53
Up to 50 pupils injured after a school bus flipped over in rush hour on the M53. Picture: Global

By StephenRigley

Authorities declared a 'major incident' after a school bus overturned in a horror smash on the M53 this morning with a 'number of casualties' and pupils still trapped inside.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

One female patient has been taken to hospital with major trauma-related injuries as 50 others are being checked over by ambulance crews at the scene in Hooton, Cheshire.

Witnesses say children were escaping from the back window and are standing on the M53 hard shoulder after the bus crashed with a car and struck a reservation just after 8am.

Scene on the M53 this morning
Scene on the M53 this morning. Picture: Global

The crash involves children from Calday Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School for girls, according to the local councillor for Upton By Chester, Sherin Akhtar.

Crews are currently working to safely remove passengers, including the driver, as ambulance crews are attending to anyone needing treatment at the scene.

Emergency services convoy leads coach of survivors off M53 after horror school bus crash

Read More: Top police officer faces probe for wearing Falklands medal despite being too young to fight in the war

Read more: Moment disqualified motorcyclist flips off bike as it explodes in fireball, after crash on residential street

Around 10 police vehicles, four fire engines and five ambulances raced to the area in Merseyside just after 8am. North West Air Ambulance Services was also scrambled to the scene, where part of the motorway has been closed entirely.

Merseyside police has tweeted: "Emergency services are dealing with an RTC along the M53 junction 5 northbound. Please avoid this area and find an alternative route."

A spokesman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue confirmed their attendance and said there were casualties.

Calday Grammar School in the Wirral has tweeted: "A situation involving one of our school buses on the highway earlier today has come to our attention. 

'If you need to talk or seek guidance, please reach out to our teaching and pastoral teams."

Councillor for Upton by Chester Sherin Akhtar posted a statement on Facebook which reads: "I can confirm and am aware of an accident on the M53 this morning going towards the Wirral/ Birkenhead. 

"It involves a Carvers coach (W3) travelling to Calday Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar school for girls.'Whilst this is a live situation, I would like to assure residents that I am working on their behalf and offer support and will endeavour to update, as soon as possible.

"I am aware that children are being taken to Arrowe Park as precautionary."

A witness who tweeted a photo showing a bus lying on its side wrote: "Crash on the M53 towards Liverpool just after J5. Coach on the side with school kids escaping for the back window.

"Hope all the kids got out ok."

Another said: "Drove past that was awful to see all the kids standing on the hard shoulder."

A spokesman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue said: "Fire crews have been called to the scene of a road traffic collision between junctions 5 and 4 of the M53 on the northbound carriageway this morning.

"Two fire engines and the Search and Rescue Team are in attendance. Crews were alerted at 8.05am and on scene at 8.16am. Crews arrived at the scene to find an overturned bus with a number of casualties. North West Ambulance and Merseyside Police are also in attendance. The incident is ongoing and the carriageway will remain closed for some time."

National Highways Traffic Officers are also on scene providing assistance with traffic management. Merseyside Police contact centre tweeted: "Emergency services are dealing with an RTC along the M53 junction 5 northbound. Please avoid this area and find an alternative route."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Moscow has launched a intercontinental ballistic missile in retaliation

Russia's revenge: Moscow 'launches intercontinental ballistic missile’ in attack on Ukraine

Hannah Ingram-Moore and Captain Tom

Who is Hannah Ingram-Moore? Captain Tom's 'leading businesswomen daughter'

The "Prescott Punch" is one of the most iconic moments in modern British political history

Infamous moment John Prescott punches protester who threw egg at him

Exclusive
Gordon Brown pays tribute to "working class hero" John Prescott.

Gordon Brown pays tribute to 'colossus' John Prescott after his death aged 86 following battle with Alzheimer's

(L) British lawyer Simone White, 28, is seriously ill in hospital. (R) Bianca Jones, 19, has become the fourth person to die after consuming alleged 'methanol-laced' drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos

London lawyer fights for her life and Australian backpacker dies after drinking 'methanol-laced' shots from bar in Laos

Russia is threatening to use new missiles in Ukraine after US and UK rockets were used in their territory

Putin 'to retaliate with new Frontier missiles in Ukraine' after US and UK give green light to fire rockets in Russia

Smaller drones, costing a fraction of Watchkeeper’s £5.2 million unit price, are being used to great effect in Ukraine for reconnaissance and precision strikes.

The British Army’s £1.35bn Watchkeeper drone programme: From ambition and innovation to delays, failure, and abandonment

GERMANY-TRANSPORT-TRAFFIC

Hundreds of drivers left stuck in vehicles in freezing conditions on M2 after serious crash between pedestrian and lorry

TV host Ellen Degeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi are reportedly planning to move permanently to rural England

Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi 'to flee US and move to England' after Trump's election win

Exclusive
‘The storm of war is gathering’: Defence cuts leave UK critically unprepared for a 'bumpy decade', warns ex-minister

‘The storm of war is gathering’: Defence cuts leave UK 'woefully unprepared' for a 'bumpy decade', warns ex-minister

Tony Blair leads tributes to John Prescott

'Devastated' Tony Blair leads tributes to John Prescott after former deputy PM dies aged 86

North Korea Deepens Russian Alliance: Troop Deployments Prioritise Advanced Weapons Technology Over Financial Gains

North Korea deepens alliance with Russia, trading troop support for advanced weapons technology to fuel nuclear programme

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86

Former deputy PM John Prescott dies aged 86 following battle with Alzheimer's

Exclusive
Soldiers are being trained in trench and urban warfare

'Kill him before he tries to kill you': LBC visits Ukrainian troops being trained by British soldiers

Rolf Harris has died aged 93

Paedophile entertainer Rolf Harris died penniless after 'wiping out £16m fortune to make it harder for victims to access'

Exclusive
Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore

Money 'reasonably expected' to reach Captain Tom's charity never did, commissioner tells LBC