Three children and an adult are receiving hospital treatment after a school bus overturned in Co Down.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance (NIAS) declared a major incident following the incident in the Carrowdore area when the vehicle, which was carrying more than 40 children, left the road and landed in a field on Monday afternoon.
Emergency services and a specialist rescue team attended the scene on the Ballyblack Road East after initial reports indicated that about 70 people were on board.
In an updated statement on Monday evening, the NIAS confirmed the figure had been revised to 43 passengers and a driver.
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Most of the children on board were aged between 11 to 16.
“NIAS has assessed and treated patients at the scene, with four currently requiring further treatment at hospital,” a NIAS spokesman confirmed.
“The remainder have either been, or are in the process of being assessed with a view to discharging at the scene.”
The PSNI described the incident as a “serious road traffic collision”.
The mother of a boy who was on the bus has told how she could hear pupils screaming over the phone after the vehicle turned over.
Dylan Lee, 12, a year eight pupil at Strangford Integrated College, was with his mother Stacey Lee following the crash.
Dylan said: “I was on the top deck on the right hand side. I was just sitting with my friend. He is fine, he just hurt his arm.
“The bus hit a post and it started to stall and went down this hill. It just started shaking. I closed my eyes and then I opened them and I was on the floor.”
He added: “The first thing I did when I got up was to phone my mum.”
Mrs Lee said her son had a lump and a cut on his head.
She said: “I could hear him screaming that he had crashed and I could hear all the kids in the background screaming. It was awful.”
Dylan sad: “Then there was this guy came down with a hammer and the windows were all being smashed so we could get out.
“I was crawling under stuff like railings and school bags and stuff. It was on its side in the field.”
The South Eastern health trust said it was responding to the major incident: “Our staff in the emergency department are preparing to treat anyone who needs our care.
“We would ask any patient not requiring emergency care to please use alternative services. If your condition is life-threatening, please visit the Emergency Department at the Ulster Hospital as normal.”
Local SDLP representative Will Polland said concerns had been raised multiple times about the road where the crash occurred. - Additional reporting PA
