A female has been left with “major trauma-related” injuries and an unknown number of pupils have needed medical attention following a school bus crash on a motorway on the border with Merseyside on Friday morning. The emergency services responded to the major incident on the northbound carriageway of the M53 in Cheshire around 8:30 a.m. on 7 May, closing both sides of the carriageway. Traffic was diverted off at junction 5, which had been the site of a minor collision earlier that morning.
Alder Hey Hospital, a children’s hospital in Liverpool, declared the incident, stating they were “treating a number of patients,” and were liaising with patients’ families. Arrowe Park in Wirral and the North West ambulance service also declared major incidents. As of 10:30 a.m., the ambulance service reported a female patient had been transported to hospital to receive treatment for her injuries, and at the scene, 50 other patients were being assessed.
Eyewitness accounts from motorists suggest pupils were forced to climb out of the coach’s rear window after it overturned. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that a specialist search and rescue team was on the scene alongside two fire engines. North West ambulance and Merseyside Police were also in attendance, and an air ambulance was reportedly sent to the site.
Sherin Akhtar, a local Labour councillor, passed the crash site moments after the incident with her daughter, who recognized the coach. She confirmed that students from her son’s grammar school in Chester were among the casualties. Two schools in Wirral, Calday Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School, also reported their pupils were on the affected bus.
The Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, expressed her concern over social media and stated her department is working closely with the local authority to offer support. Merseyside police asked people not to speculate or share any sensitive information online or through social media platforms to avoid any further distress