A child has died after a school coach carrying children and staff home from an end of term trip flipped onto its roof and slid down a 20ft bank in Somerset.
The coach was travelling back to nearby Minehead Middle School with about 60 to 70 passengers on board.
21 people were taken to hospital, including several who have suffered serious injuries.
An off-duty firefighter travelling behind the coach was able to start freeing passengers immediately, a press conference on Thursday evening heard.
Speaking outside Bridgwater Police Centre, Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: âWe can confirm tonight that one child has sadly died.
âA formal identification process will need to be carried out, but our thoughts and sympathies are with their family, who we are in contact with.
âA specially-trained officer will be providing them with support.
âMany passengers either sustained minor injuries or were physically unharmed and were transferred to a rest centre.
âWork to help them return to Minehead has been taking place throughout the evening.â
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X: âA heartbreaking update on the school bus crash in Somerset.
âThere are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child. All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected.
âThank you to the emergency workers who are responding at pace â Iâm being kept up to date on this situation.â
The crash happened on the A396 at Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, at about 3.15pm on Thursday, police said.
Minehead Middle School caters for pupils aged between nine and 14, and is five days away from the end of term.
Gavin Ellis, of Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, said: âWe were mobilised to a major incident of a coach that had overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down the embankment.
âThis was a very complex and technically difficult incident for our crews to deal with, and Iâm grateful for the tireless effort and actions of the crews in doing everything they could for those who were trapped and as quickly as safely as possible.
âIâm also grateful to the off-duty firefighter who was traveling behind the coach at the point of the crash who was able to start to release those casualties from the bus.â
Emergency services declared a major incident, with 20 double-crewed ambulances, three air ambulances and eight fire engines sent to the scene.
Beacon Education Multi-Academy Trust, which runs the school, said: âWe are working closely with the emergency services and relevant authorities following an incident this afternoon, to support our pupils, families, and staff at this very difficult time.
âWe will update our school community further as soon as more information becomes available, and we kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we manage this evolving situation with care and sensitivity.â
The A396 remains closed and police asked people to avoid the area.
A resident who lives near the crash scene described the incident as âhorrendousâ.
The resident, who asked not to be named, told the PA news agency: âThe coach has gone down the slope. Itâs pretty steep around here and itâs a big coach.
âThere are no barriers along there or anything. Weâre used to it, you donât even notice it.
âI canât believe it happened, quite honestly, itâs the biggest thing I have known to go over the slope.
âItâs horrendous, and Iâm just so sorry for all those kids on that coach.â
A local coach operator, which owns the bus, said it had been liaising with the school and the emergency services.
âWe will be doing everything possible to understand what has happened,â Peter Prior-Sankey, director of Ridlers said.
The Transport Secretary said she was being kept updated on the crash.
In a post on X, Heidi Alexander said: âIâm aware of the serious incident involving a bus near Minehead, Somerset.
âMy thoughts are with all those involved.
âThe emergency services are on scene, and I am receiving regular updates on the situation.â
