Bus crash leaves 17 injured

Seventeen people were taken to hospital today after a bus crashed and rolled 50ft down an embankment in the UK, trapping one woman underneath, police said.

Emergency services said the passengers had been “fortunate” that nobody was more seriously hurt in the accident in Warrington this afternoon.

It is thought the single decker bus collided with a car and clipped a crash barrier and a tree before rolling down the embankment off the A56 Chester Road around 2.40pm today.

It finally came to rest against an electricity pylon, he said.

Ambulances from Greater Manchester were drafted in to help with the operation and a total of 17 people were taken to hospital, where a major incident was declared.

One woman, who police said may have been a pedestrian, suffered serious abdominal injuries after being trapped underneath the bus. She needed to be freed by emergency services.

A child, thought to be aged about 10, suffered a fractured leg, an ambulance service spokesman said.

The other 15 casualties, which included the driver, were being treated for cuts, bruises and shock at Warrington General Hospital.

One motorist said he saw a number of children being carried up the embankment shortly after the accident happened.