A major incident has been declared after a school bus overturned in a crash on a motorway in Wirral causing many casualties.
Emergency responders took one woman to hospital with severe injuries, while approximately 50 others – including many children – are undergoing assessment at the M53 crash site.
Calday Grange Grammar School for boys and West Kirby Grammar School for girls have confirmed that one of their school buses was involved in the accident.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue reported that their teams arrived at the scene at 8:16 am today and encountered an overturned bus with numerous casualties.
A North West Ambulance Service statement read: “”The trust despatched a large number of resources to the scene involving ambulances, advanced paramedics, our hazardous area response team and a HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service) doctor.
“So far, one female patient has been taken to the hospital, suffering major trauma-related injuries.
“There are also nearly 50 other patients being assessed at the scene. We are working closely with our incident partners to convey people away from the scene as quickly as possible.”
An air ambulance was also at the scene.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital also declared a “major incident”.
“Our emergency department is currently extremely busy and we would also ask parents to only bring their children to the department if it is urgent,” it said in a statement.
The M53 has been shut in both directions between junctions 3 and 5 and diversions are in place.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area and find alternative routes while the incident is ongoing.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage or CCTV is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via X (Twitter) @MerPolCC quoting 23000944471.
You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/
