Eight hospitalised after double-decker bus has roof torn off by railway bridge

Eight people have been hospitalised after the roof was torn off a double-decker bus when it hit a railway bridge.

Emergency services rushed to the scene in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, after the incident took place shortly before 2pm on Thursday.

Photos from the scene show the top deck of the Stagecoach bus completely exposed as the destroyed roof lay on the road nearby.

Police Scotland confirmed eight people had been taken to hospital following the crash but said there are no reports of any ‘serious injuries’.

A schoolboy sat on the top deck described how the bus was going ‘quite fast’ before hitting the bridge and that he went ‘into shock’ following the collision.

‘Any person would know we wouldn’t fit under it. People on the bus were prepared, and it seemed everyone knew what was going to happen,’ he told STV.

‘It just suddenly slammed into the bridge, and the full roof came off. It was a really long, crashing sound.’

The boy said he was left ‘covered in glass’ after the crash, and that most of the passengers onboard were teenagers.

‘As I came off the stairs, there was blood all over the handles and a boy getting checked by the paramedics,’ he told the outlet.

‘There was around 11 of us on the top deck, all teenagers. I couldn’t see anyone who wasn’t my age.

‘I spoke to the police, got checked by the paramedics and phoned my mum who came to get me. Luckily I was alright.’

The incident comes less than a week after a double-decker First Bus hit a railway bridge in Glasgow on Saturday evening, which left several people injured.

A 60-year-old man was taken to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in a critical condition at the weekend.

A woman, 52, and five men, aged 30, 32, 41 and two aged 33, were also taken by ambulance to the same hospital for treatment to minor injuries and were later discharged.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We received a call at 1.55pm to attend an incident on Culzean Crescent, Kilmarnock.

‘One ambulance and three special operations response teams were dispatched to the scene and four patients were transported to University Hospital Crosshouse.’

A Police Scotland statement said: ‘Officers were called to a crash involving a double decker bus on Culzean Crescent in Kilmarnock around 1.55pm on Thursday 19 December 2024.

‘Eight passengers were taken to hospital. There are no reports of serious injuries.

‘Enquiries are ongoing into the collision. The road reopened around 5.30pm.’

ScotRail said no train services had been impacted.

Network Rail said specialist engineers inspected the structure following the incident.

A spokesman said: ‘The bridge has not sustained any structural damage as a result of the collision.’

A Stagecoach West Scotland spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm there has been an incident involving one of our buses in Kilmarnock.

‘The 6 service, which runs from Kilmarnock Bus Station to New Farm Loch, struck a low bridge.

‘Investigations are ongoing and we are working closely with Police Scotland.’

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