Counselling offered to pupils involved in Oundle bus crash

A number of youngsters from the Prince William School in Oundle were injured in the accident in Cotterstock Road, Oundle, which saw the double decker bus overturn following a collision with a car at about 4pm.

A Northamptonshire police spokesman said: “The bus, which was carrying 10 primary school children and 39 secondary schoolchildren as well as one adult, overturned onto its side.

“Twenty children suffered cuts and bruises and were treated by paramedics from the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were also on scene within minutes.

“One child was air-lifted to Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, with non-life-threatening injuries and another child suffered a broken arm.

“The driver of the Corsa was airlifted to the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry for treatment to leg injuries.”

A statement released by the school said: “The School received a call informing us that the school transport bus, 422 Oundle to Kings Cliffe, had been in a collision and was on its side having collected students at the end of the day. School staff arrived at the scene, close to Oundle Primary School, as quickly as possible where they met emergency services.

“Additionally staff from Oundle Primary School, who also had students travelling on the bus, were present to support.

“All injured pupils were cared for by the emergency services and school staff. Minor injuries were assessed at the scene with a small number of students transferred to hospital.

“The school worked closely with the emergency services and parents throughout the incident.

“The EMLC Trust are arranging for a specialist counselling service to be available on site on Friday to support children and families.”

The school also offered specialist counselling services for youngsters last night.

The statement added: “The safety and well-being of our students remains the utmost priority.

“Thanks to all staff, students and parents for their support, help and outstanding response.”

Three air ambulances attended the crash, along with a number of other emergency services.

John Wright, General Manager of Operations at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Yesterday afternoon we were alerted of a large incident in Oundle, Northamptonshire involving a double decker bus that had been involved in a collision with a car. The caller reported around 40 patients many of which were children.

“Due to the high number of potential casualties we sent a Paramedic Officer, Drs, local crews, the Air Ambulance and our Hazardous Area Response Team to the emergency. Thankfully the injuries obtained were not life threatening so whilst we helped around 30 patients many of them had minor injuries and were discharged at the scene.

“I want to say thank you to our teams for how well they managed this challenging situation. Our crews were supported by colleagues from Northamptonshire Police, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue, three Air Ambulances and East of England Ambulance Service. Everyone worked together both at the scene and across our control rooms to ensure the patients were triaged and treated quickly to allow our paramedics to arrange treatment and hospital care for those with more serious injuries.”

More: Pupils treated by paramedics after school bus overturns in Oundle