Emergency Services Work Together to Help Injured Passengers

Police, firefighters and paramedics worked for hours to rescue and treat the 70 international workers injured in yesterday’s coach crash.

Officers cordoned off the scene and maintained crowd control while two air ambulances, 14 land ambulances, five rapid response vehicles and 25 firefighters went to the scene.

One person was declared dead at the scene and two men and a woman were today in critical conditions in hospital. In total, nine casualties were taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, with one person discharged last night.

A further 15 casualties were taken to a hospital in Burton, four more went to Stafford General Hospital and one went to Selly Oak, Birmingham.

The coach driver, who is believed to be from Lincolnshire, was among the more serious casualties. The rest were treated by medics at Alton Towers.

Chief Inspector John Maddox, pictured, said: “We have a team of collision investigation officers who are experts in examining scenes and ascertaining what may have gone wrong.”

Police accept removing the stricken bus will be a difficult task because the vehicle is so close to a bridge.Roads around the crash scene remained closed this morning while accident investigators gathered evidence. Diversions were being set up for visitors to Alton Towers.

Ian Sloss, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We had 25 firefighters who used cutting equipment to gain access to the bus.

“Crews have been working with the rest of the emergency services to account for all the people on the coach.”

Murray MacGregor, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, confirmed all 71 people on the bus had been accounted for.

He added: “To get 71 patients in one accident is very unusual.”

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