GB News North West Reporter, Sophie Reaper, reports on a 'major incident' in Merseyside on the M53 involving a coach of schoolchildren.

#coach #crash #M53 #majorincident

Keep up to date with the latest news at https://www.gbnews.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GBNEWS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GBNewsOnline

Download the GB News app! You can watch GB News on all of your favourite devices and keep up to date with the latest news, analysis, opinion and more.

https://www.gbnews.com/watch/how-to-watch

Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool declaring a major incident after that school bus with more than 50 pupils on board overturned on the M53 motorway at Merseyside this morning.

1 woman taken to hospital what were described as major trauma injuries following this accident near Junction 5.

But 50 others had to be assessed at the scene with 2 air ambulances in attendance.

It's reported that some of the children were trapped inside the bus.

These pictures taken by those travelling past the scene a little earlier.

But let's get the very latest now with our North West of England reporter, Sophie Reaper, who's there at the scene.

And Sophie, this is Junction 5, I gather, at Hooton on the motorway.

You can see behind me that the motorway does remain closed.

We know that emergency services were called here this morning shortly after 8 o'clock after reports of that bus crash.

Now, this is 1 of those stories that is so rapidly moving and it will continue to develop.

Here's a little bit about what we know so far.

We know that that bus according to police collided with a car and then hit the central reservation close to junction 5 here on the M53.

We also know that bus was carrying school pupils from Calde Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School for girls.

Both of those schools are high schools with a 6 form, meaning the pupils will be aged around 11-18.

We also know from the North West Ambulance Service who have also declared a major incident.

We know from them that 50 people aboard the bus were assessed at the scene and that 1 female was taken to a nearby hospital having suffered major trauma related injuries.

Local hospital Alder Hey Children's Hospital have put a statement online saying, following an incident on the M53, we have called a major incident.

Our emergency department is currently extremely busy and would ask parents to only bring their children to the department if it is urgent.

So clearly there's been reaction from across the Northwest.

All emergency services have been here as you said, 2 air ambulances also involved and as I said before this is 1 of those stories that will continue to develop as the day moves on so we'll be bringing you all the latest on it as we get it.

Yeah now we've got Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell asking people not to speculate about what's happened and what's continuing to happen.

But what we do know for instance is that NHS staff have actually come off the picket lines elsewhere in the Wirral, indicating the sort of emergency response has had to be.

This is 1 of those stories where speculation will be rife, people will hear Chinese whispers and it will become, it will snowball almost and that's why Emily Spurrill is asking people not to do so because of course family, parents, friends of those who have children at those schools will of course be concerned.

So it makes sense that actually people stay away from posting online with whatever they think may have happened and instead wait for people such as the media or official outlets such as the emergency services to bring us the latest.

And Tell us a little bit more about this particular area.

We think this was the northbound carriageway.

8 o'clock in the morning, clearly at the height of rush hour when this happened, we assume that this is going to be a really busy stretch of motorway.

You can hear cars still making their way round this ring road.

We are quite close to Chester and Liverpool, somewhere in the middle, near to Birkenhead.

So this road will have been in both directions, people travelling around the north-west.

It is a major thoroughfare for people on the commute in a morning so you're absolutely right I would imagine the traffic will have been quite busy at this point in a morning on a working day so we can only imagine exactly what would have been going on.

And a worrying time of course for all parents and families.

What do we know about the 2 schools involved?

They've been named as Caldwey Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School which I think is a school for girls.

As I mentioned, those are both high schools in this area that also have a sixth form, which will mean it's year 7 to 11 plus the sixth form age, which is year 12 and 13, meaning the pupils will be aged 11 to 18.

Of course it's not the entirety of a school that will be on board it will only be a select few pupils and so we're yet to find out exactly what the age range is of those pupils who were on board but I'm sure that will be some information that we get as the day goes on.

And clearly looking there behind you we expect this stretch of motorway to be closed for some time yet as the rescue and recovery operation continues.

Absolutely and police have advised people to avoid this area completely and to find other routes because of course with something as large as a bus this isn't as simple as perhaps as a normal car crash.

With something as large as a bus of course we've seen the pictures A rescue operation will now be underway to try and move the bus itself but of course there's many people involved who will now have to be potentially taken to other locations so you're absolutely right that this will now take some time to try and clear it up.

Sophie, for the moment thank you very much for joining us there at the scene there on the M53.

Just to share with you that the 2 schools, Caldwick Range and West Kirby have posted tweets to say we are aware of the situation involving 1 of our school buses.

We're actively gathering details and assisting affected students and their families and clearly as the Police and Crime Commissioner is asking people not to speculate on social media.

We will update you as we get more details from the emergency services.


Speaker 0: Situation on Merseyside. Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool declaring a major incident after that school bus with more than 50 pupils on board overturned on the M53 motorway at Merseyside this morning. 1 woman taken to hospital what were described as major trauma injuries following this accident near Junction 5. But 50 others had to be assessed at the scene with 2 air ambulances in attendance. It's reported that some of the children were trapped inside the bus.

These pictures taken by those travelling past the scene a little earlier. But let's get the very latest now with our North West of England reporter, Sophie Reaper, who's there at the scene. And Sophie, this is Junction 5, I gather, at Hooton on the motorway.

Speaker 1: It is indeed. You can see behind me that the motorway does remain closed. We know that emergency services were called here this morning shortly after 8 o'clock after reports of that bus crash. Now, this is 1 of those stories that is so rapidly moving and it will continue to develop. Here's a little bit about what we know so far.

We know that that bus according to police collided with a car and then hit the central reservation close to junction 5 here on the M53. We also know that bus was carrying school pupils from Calde Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School for girls. Both of those schools are high schools with a 6 form, meaning the pupils will be aged around 11-18. We also know from the North West Ambulance Service who have also declared a major incident. We know from them that 50 people aboard the bus were assessed at the scene and that 1 female was taken to a nearby hospital having suffered major trauma related injuries.

Local hospital Alder Hey Children's Hospital have put a statement online saying, following an incident on the M53, we have called a major incident. Our emergency department is currently extremely busy and would ask parents to only bring their children to the department if it is urgent. So clearly there's been reaction from across the Northwest. All emergency services have been here as you said, 2 air ambulances also involved and as I said before this is 1 of those stories that will continue to develop as the day moves on so we'll be bringing you all the latest on it as we get it.

Speaker 0: Yeah now we've got Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell asking people not to speculate about what's happened and what's continuing to happen. But what we do know for instance is that NHS staff have actually come off the picket lines elsewhere in the Wirral, indicating the sort of emergency response has had to be.

Speaker 1: Absolutely. This is 1 of those stories where speculation will be rife, people will hear Chinese whispers and it will become, it will snowball almost and that's why Emily Spurrill is asking people not to do so because of course family, parents, friends of those who have children at those schools will of course be concerned. So it makes sense that actually people stay away from posting online with whatever they think may have happened and instead wait for people such as the media or official outlets such as the emergency services to bring us the latest.

Speaker 0: And Tell us a little bit more about this particular area. We think this was the northbound carriageway. 8 o'clock in the morning, clearly at the height of rush hour when this happened, we assume that this is going to be a really busy stretch of motorway.

Speaker 1: It would have been indeed. We are really quite close. You can hear cars still making their way round this ring road. We are quite close to Chester and Liverpool, somewhere in the middle, near to Birkenhead. So this road will have been in both directions, people travelling around the north-west.

It is a major thoroughfare for people on the commute in a morning so you're absolutely right I would imagine the traffic will have been quite busy at this point in a morning on a working day so we can only imagine exactly what would have been going on.

Speaker 0: And a worrying time of course for all parents and families. What do we know about the 2 schools involved? They've been named as Caldwey Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School which I think is a school for girls.

Speaker 1: It is indeed. As I mentioned, those are both high schools in this area that also have a sixth form, which will mean it's year 7 to 11 plus the sixth form age, which is year 12 and 13, meaning the pupils will be aged 11 to 18. Of course it's not the entirety of a school that will be on board it will only be a select few pupils and so we're yet to find out exactly what the age range is of those pupils who were on board but I'm sure that will be some information that we get as the day goes on.

Speaker 0: And clearly looking there behind you we expect this stretch of motorway to be closed for some time yet as the rescue and recovery operation continues.

Speaker 1: Absolutely and police have advised people to avoid this area completely and to find other routes because of course with something as large as a bus this isn't as simple as perhaps as a normal car crash. With something as large as a bus of course we've seen the pictures A rescue operation will now be underway to try and move the bus itself but of course there's many people involved who will now have to be potentially taken to other locations so you're absolutely right that this will now take some time to try and clear it up.

Speaker 0: Sophie, for the moment thank you very much for joining us there at the scene there on the M53. Back to you of course as we get more. Just to share with you that the 2 schools, Caldwick Range and West Kirby have posted tweets to say we are aware of the situation involving 1 of our school buses. We're actively gathering details and assisting affected students and their families and clearly as the Police and Crime Commissioner is asking people not to speculate on social media. We will update you as we get more details from the emergency services.

See all GBNews transcripts on Youtube

'Major Incident' on M53 following crash of coach carrying schoolchildren