ONE of the students involved in the school bus crash in Winchester said students were shaken and distressed after the incident.

A year 11 pupil, who can’t be named, commended the work of the emergency services after a double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge in Well House Lane.

He said: “I was sitting on the bus on my phone when the bus driver goes through a tunnel and I hear a crash.

“I thought he had hit the side of the tunnel and scratched the bus.

“He then carried on driving through the tunnel probably to get to the other side and check the damage.

“Then he slammed the brakes on when he realised what happened.

“Half of the top deck fell next to the window and there was glass all over the bottom of the stairs.

“The lights went off and I couldn’t see what was going on because we were in a dark tunnel.”

The student said someone then got on the bus and organised getting the students off.

He said there were a few people badly injured.

Hampshire Chronicle:

“There was one paramedic car there pretty quickly,” he continued.

“Vehicles then arriving the whole time and lots of fire engines.

“The younger students were crying, I’m in year 11 so I’m one of the older students and I was trying to calm them down.

“People were sitting down crying, some shaken, some injured.

“I don’t think the extent of what had happened had hit some of us until we were outside of the bus and looked back and saw what had happened.”

As reported, five fire crews from Winchester, Eastleigh, Andover, Redbridge and Basingstoke attended shortly after 8am.

Hampshire Police confirmed 16 students suffered injuries, three people with serious injuries.