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NI driver killed in Belgium school trip bus crash | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A bus driver from Northern Ireland has been killed in a coach crash in Belgium. | |
He was on a bus carrying 34 school children from an Essex school in the UK. | |
Another driver, also from Northern Ireland, has been seriously injured. | |
A pupil from Brentwood School who was on the bus suffered a head injury and is in intensive care. It is understood that three pupils and two teachers are in hospital. | |
The bus company, Richmond Coaches, is from Lisburn, County Antrim. | |
The bus overturned on the A18 (E40) at Middelkerke, West Flanders at 09:45 local time (08:45 BST). | |
Eyewitnesses said it crashed into a motorway bridge pillar. | |
West Flanders traffic police confirmed that one person is dead and one is injured. | West Flanders traffic police confirmed that one person is dead and one is injured. |
Thirty-one children and three teachers walked away from the crash. | Thirty-one children and three teachers walked away from the crash. |
The children from Brentwood School were all aged from 11 to 13 years old. | |
Ian Davies, the school's head teacher said: "There are three children in hospital. We don't know the full extent of their injuries. | |
"I know that one boy has a head injury which is being monitored very carefully. | |
"I have spoken to the lead teacher on the trip. He is in hospital, I think he broke his collar bone, but seemed in as good a shape as could be expected." | |
A spokesman from Richmond Coaches of Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, confirmed that one of its vehicles had been involved in the crash. | A spokesman from Richmond Coaches of Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, confirmed that one of its vehicles had been involved in the crash. |
He said what had happened was "a tragedy" and the company was co-operating with the authorities. | He said what had happened was "a tragedy" and the company was co-operating with the authorities. |
He said the company's thoughts were with everyone involved and they were cooperating fully with the authorities. | He said the company's thoughts were with everyone involved and they were cooperating fully with the authorities. |
Photographs on Twitter show the bus on its side and several people still inside. | Photographs on Twitter show the bus on its side and several people still inside. |
Janna Rommel-Opstaele, the mayor of the nearby coastal town of Middelkerke, told press agency Reuters that the bus driver had been killed and another seriously injured. | |
"Some of the children with light injuries have been taken to hospital and local medical centres," she said. | "Some of the children with light injuries have been taken to hospital and local medical centres," she said. |
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they were aware of the crash and were working with the Belgian authorities to establish details. | A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they were aware of the crash and were working with the Belgian authorities to establish details. |
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