logo
Hero off-duty firefighter rushed to save kids when school trip bus overturned leaving 2 dead & 21 injured

Hero off-duty firefighter rushed to save kids when school trip bus overturned leaving 2 dead & 21 injured

The Irish Sun18-07-2025
A HEROIC off-duty firefighter who was driving behind a school bus that tragically crashed yesterday immediately rushed to help.
One child sadly died and two others were rushed to hospital after the coach veered off the road and slid down a 20ft bank.
7
Emergency crews rescued passengers from the bus following a crash
Credit: SWNS
7
A large section of the A396 in Somerset was closed off while teams dealt with the scene
Credit: BPM Media
7
Five helicopters were deployed to help the major rescue operation
Credit: SWNS
7
Some 21 casualties were taken to hospital by land and air after the accident.
The bus came off the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe in Somerset shortly before 3pm yesterday.
Emergency crews worked tirelessly to rescue trapped passengers.
It later emerged that a heroic off-duty firefighter was travelling behind the coach and was able to start freeing passengers straight away.
Gavin Ellis, Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We were mobilised to a major incident to a coach that had overturned onto its roof and slip approximately 20ft (6.1m) down an embankment.
"I'm grateful to the off-duty firefighter who was travelling behind the coach at the point of the collision who was able to start taking immediate [action] to start releasing those casualties from the bus."
He added: "Our crews carried out a number of extrications and rescues in extremely difficult circumstances, and he also supported our ambulance colleagues with
casualty
treatment.
"This was a very complex and technically difficult incident for our crews to deal with, and I'm grateful for the tireless effort and actions of the crews in doing everything they could for those who were trapped as quickly as safely as possible."
Most read in The Sun
Two people were left seriously injured following the crash, which saw the coach filled with pupils from Minehead Middle School leave the road.
It is thought that the year five pupils were returning from a trip to Exmoor Zoo in nearby Devon.
Minehead Middle School's website states that pupils in that year group (aged nine to 10) were due to visit the zoo as part of the school's "Enrichment Week" activities.
Three helicopters, deployed by Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Devon Air Ambulance, joined police air crews.
Some casualties were then taken by air ambulance to hospital in Bristol.
Gavin Ellis, the chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said the coach "overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment".
In a press conference outside Minehead Middle School, cops confirmed that they were called at 2.58pm to the "very complex and technically difficult scene".
Parents - who had been summoned to the school by police - were seen visibly upset as they waited outside the building.
Police confirmed that 21 casualties had been rushed to hospital, although the "large majority of passengers" were taken to a rest centre in Wheddon Cross.
Eight fire engines, two specialist rescue appliances and around 60 firefighters were deployed to the scene.
South Western Ambulance Service deployed 20 double crewed ambulances, three air ambulances, a command team and two hazardous area response teams.
Cops estimate around 60 to 70 people were onboard the coach when it left the road.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute after the tragic death of the child, saying: "A heartbreaking update on the school bus crash in Somerset.
"There are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child.
Read more on the Irish Sun
"All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected.
"Thank you to the emergency workers who are responding at pace — I'm being kept up to date on this situation."
7
Police on guard outside Minehead Middle School
Credit: SWNS
7
Emergency crews have been spotted around the scene of the crash
Credit: SWNS
7
The road remains closed after 21 casualties were rushed to hospital
Credit: SWNS
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Incredible pictures show moment seagull SHATTERS cockpit of £73MILLION warplane
Incredible pictures show moment seagull SHATTERS cockpit of £73MILLION warplane

The Irish Sun

time5 days ago

  • The Irish Sun

Incredible pictures show moment seagull SHATTERS cockpit of £73MILLION warplane

A WARPLANE strikes a seagull at an airshow display — shattering the cockpit canopy. Incredibly the pilot was un­harmed and able to land the £73million 4 The seagull can be seen to the right of the £73million Eurofighter as it flies above an airbase in Spain Credit: SWNS 4 The exact moment of impact is caught by the photographer, as a huge cloud of debris erupts from the fighter's cockpit canopy Credit: SWNS 4 Despite the huge hole in the canopy, the hero pilot managed to safely land the Eurofighter jet Credit: SWNS A photographer captured the split-second strike over the San Javier Air Base in Murcia, Spain, on June 15. But snapper Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero said he realised what had happened only after checking his photos. They show the gull swooping into the path of the jet, before the bird is hit and A huge cloud of debris can then be seen exploding out from the pilot's cockpit area READ MORE WORLD NEWS Javier added: "I was at the base in the San Javier area, at the site where they took us photographers. 'We were watching the Eurofighter display when we saw it leave without finishing. "They reported over the radio it hit a seagull. "I had the whole sequence.' Most read in The Sun 4 The gaping hole in the cockpit canopy is clear to see as the pilot attempts to land the fighter Credit: SWNS Red Arrow forced to make emergency landing as bird strike smashes canopy mid display

Thousands raised for schoolbus crash victims
Thousands raised for schoolbus crash victims

Extra.ie​

time19-07-2025

  • Extra.ie​

Thousands raised for schoolbus crash victims

Wellwishers have raised more than £15,000 (pounds) for the families of victims involved in a fatal school-bus crash in Somerset, UK, earlier this week. A 10-year-old boy died in the accident, while six other children, and three adults, are still being treated in hospital for a range of injuries. The accident happened when the school bus left the road, the A396 at Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, and slid down a 20ft slope on Thursday afternoon. Police near the scene of a bus crash on the A396 Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, near Minehead. Picture date: Thursday July 17, 2025. Pic: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/PA Images The bus had been carrying around 70 pupils and staff from Minehead Middle School, who were returning from a trip to Exmoor Zoo days before the end of the school term. An off-duty firefighter who just happened to be travelling behind the coach was able to start working to free some of the passengers from the bus immediately after the crash, but crash investigators say recovery of the vehicle and the investigation into the crash is complex. The road is still closed and will remain so until next week. Emergency services near the scene of a bus crash on the A396 Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, near Minehead. Picture date: Thursday July 17, 2025. Pic: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/PA Images The school, which has pupils aged between nine and 14, is now closed, but people have been leaving floral tributes to the 10 year old boy who died and messages for his bereaved family, and the families of the injured, at the gates. A resident in west Somerset set up a GoFundMe page for the families affected by the tragedy, and has managed to raise more than 15,000 pounds in just 24 hours

Girl tells how she couldn't get on school trip bus ‘because it was full' – moments before it crashed killing classmate
Girl tells how she couldn't get on school trip bus ‘because it was full' – moments before it crashed killing classmate

The Irish Sun

time18-07-2025

  • The Irish Sun

Girl tells how she couldn't get on school trip bus ‘because it was full' – moments before it crashed killing classmate

A SCHOOLGIRL has told of the miracle moment she was turned away from a packed school coach before it crashed - leaving one child dead and scores hurt. Lucky Emily Manning, 10, climbed on board the 8 Emily Manning, 10, climbed on board the doomed 70-seater after an end of term trip to the zoo but was told to get off because it was already full 8 People look at the floral tributes at the entrance to the Minehead Middle School Credit: PA 8 A large section of the A396 in Somerset was closed off while teams dealt with the scene Credit: BPM Media 8 She got on the first of the two coaches instead and arrived home safely. But the second coach She said: "It had been a really nice day at the zoo. I wanted to go on the second coach because that's where my friends were but there were too many people so I got off. "Everybody was in front of me and that meant I couldn't. I was upset because my friends were on that bus but also lucky.' Read more Her dad Nick Manning, 48, a window cleaner from Minehead, said: "I just feel incredibly grateful that she wasn't on it. I got a phone call when I was still at work asking me if I had picked up Emily yet because something terrible had happened. "It's every parent's nightmare, it's absolutely awful. I had constant messages and phone calls checking Emily was ok. People were panicking." The pupils on board, from Minehead Middle School, were returning from Exmoor Zoo when tragedy struck on the A396 near Wheddon Cross in Somerset. A child died in the crash whilst dozens more were hurt. Most read in The Sun The hero was driving behind the 70-seater carrying the nine and 10-year-olds when it veered off the road, flipped onto its roof and careered down a 20ft embankment. The pupils, from Minehead Middle School, were returning from an end of term trip to Exmoor Zoo when tragedy struck on the A396 near Wheddon Cross. The off-duty firefighter pulled over and ran down to the crash site as smoke billowed from the wreckage before forcing his way inside to begin rescuing children one by one. His heroics emerged as parents and pupils arrived at the school to lay flowers. Six other schools in the area closed their gates in a sign of respect as the local community reeled from the tragedy. One parent told how his stepdaughter lost her fingers in the crash. Seven pupils were trapped inside the coach after it overturned before being freed by firefighters who raced to the scene amid a major incident. A fleet of 20 ambulances and three air ambulances were also scrambled as fresh details of the rescue operation emerged. A teacher at the school wrote on Facebook: "My amazing students, I couldn't be prouder of you all and how incredibly brave you've been. "You looked after each other in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together. I feel so lucky to be your teacher." Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said: "It's a very difficult road, very steep, very windy, and it's just the nature of rural roads in my constituency. "I'm just deeply grateful to our emergency services and just heartbroken for the parents and the school and the wider family." Cindy Fouracre, whose two grandchildren attend Minehead Middle School, told BBC Radio Somerset: "Your heart goes out to all the families, the coach driver, everybody, because you just don't expect things like this to happen, do you? "They go out for a lovely day with the school, they're excited and then this is how it happens at the end of the day." Beacon Education Multi-Academy Trust, which runs Minehead Middle School, said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and all those affected by this terrible accident. "Our entire school community are devastated by this news, and we will do everything we can to support everyone affected." 8 Emergency crews have been spotted around the scene of the crash Credit: SWNS 8 Police on guard outside Minehead Middle School Credit: SWNS 8 The road remains closed after 21 casualties were rushed to hospital Credit: SWNS 8 Five helicopters were deployed to help the major rescue operation Credit: SWNS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store