London bus crash: two critical and at least 30 injured

The number 59 double-decker bus swerved to avoid another vehicle and hit the tree in Kennington, south London, at around 10.50am on Friday.

The tree was embedded in the front of the bus and emergency crews had to use cutting equipment to gain access to one side of the vehicle where two people – a man and a woman – were trapped for more than two hours.

The pair suffered serious leg injuries before fire fighters were able to release them. They were both taken to hospital.

Concerned to hear about the bus crash in Kennington late this morning – my thoughts are with the injured and all those involved

— Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) December 20, 2013

Two police officers were also among those on board when the bus crashed.

‘Trapped passengers’

Jesse Fox, an actor from north London, was on the top deck of the bus and described the tree crashing through the front windows, pinning two passengers in their seats. He said the bus was travelling “at a fairly normal speed” when it swerved in a bid to avoid hitting a car.

He explained: “The tree came basically right through the front, into the seats. The whole front of the bus was trashed. There was one guy who seemed like he was trapped. It looked like his legs and ribs were trapped. He was two seats from the front. The woman who was one seat from the front, all I could see was the back of her head, but she was badly trapped.

“She was caught between the tree and the bus, which was caved in. They were both bleeding.”

25 walking wounded patients were taken to @GSTTnhs, four were taken to @StGeorgesTrust and three went to @KingsCollegeNHS Hospital

— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) December 20, 2013

London Ambulance Service said it had treated 32 people. London Fire Brigade station manager Clive Robinson said: “Our crews on arrival found a very challenging incident. We had people injured on both floors of the bus. “We moved one lady from the ground floor who was injured, we moved people from the top floor using ladders and the back door on the bus.

“We’ve used hydraulic cutting equipment to release two people who were trapped. In addition, the floor of the bus was starting to collapse and we had to shore that up using hydraulic equipment to get the people upstairs out safely.”

Cause not yet clear

Chief Superintendent Glyn Jones said it is not yet clear what caused the crash, but confirmed that no emergency vehicles were involved.

Transport for London’s director for buses, Mike Weston, said: “Our first concern is, of course, for the driver, passengers and others involved in this incident. There will be a thorough investigation into this incident as a matter of urgency.”

The vehicle involved in the crash is operated by Arriva.