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Major incident declared after school bus crashes near Carrowdore, County Down

Major incident declared after school bus crashes near Carrowdore, County Down

A major incident has been declared after a school bus with dozens on board overturned in County Down.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said 43 pupils and a driver were on the vehicle and that four people would need hospital treatment.

It said the remaining passengers should be discharged at the scene.

Pictures on social media show a double-decker bus on its side in a field.

An air ambulance and advanced paramedics were among resources sent to the scene, said NIAS.

The fire and rescue service said it happened on Ballyblack Road East – near the village of Carrowdore – and that five appliances and a specialist rescue team had been deployed.

Police called it a “serious road traffic collision”.

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Dylan Lee, 12, a pupil at Strangford Integrated College, was one of those on board and was left with a lump and cut on his head.

“The bus hit a post and it started to stall and went down this hill,” he said.

“It just started shaking. I closed my eyes and then I opened them and I was on the floor.

“The first thing I did when I got up was to phone my mum.”

His mother, Stacey Lee, said: “I could hear him screaming that he had crashed and I could hear all the kids in the background screaming. It was awful.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said on X he was “deeply concerned” and his “thoughts and prayers” were with the people involved, their families and emergency services.

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