A crash between two doubledecker buses in Manchester has left 17 people needing hospital treatment.
The buses collided near the junction of Rochdale Road and Livesey Street, in the north of the city centre at 8.34am on Saturday. A spokesperson for North West ambulance service said: “Nine ambulances, an air ambulance, two response vehicles, an advanced paramedic and an operational commander attended the scene.
“Seventeen patients were taken to hospitals across Manchester, including seven on a bus accompanied by a paramedic. No one suffered serious injuries.”
Greater Manchester fire and rescue service had to rescue one passenger from the upper deck of one of the buses, and were at the scene for just over an hour.
Witnesses described a scene of carnage, with sections of two Bee Network buses reduced to twisted metal, and glass and debris littering the road.
Harry Yearsley, who lives next to the crash site, told the Manchester Evening News (MEN) he and his partner felt terrified when they were woken by “the biggest bang we’d ever heard”.
“We woke up and said to each other: ‘What is that?’” he said. “We knew it was something bad.” Within five minutes they heard the air ambulance arriving.
According to witnesses, the impact of the collision forced one of the vehicles sideways and off the road. Photos taken at the scene shortly after the collision showed passengers attempting to free themselves from the wreckage.
Road closures were temporarily put in place but the road was cleared by the emergency services and reopened by the police shortly before midday.
Transport for Greater Manchester’s director of buses, Stephen Rhodes, told the MEN: “This morning, at around 8.30am there was a collision involving two Bee Network buses in Manchester near the junction of Rochdale Road and Livesey Street. We are liaising with emergency services and want to wish any passengers who have been injured a speedy recovery.”
