Rescue heroes tell of crash terror

A LOCAL business owner helped rescue wedding guests from a crashed double decker wedding bus on the Ballynahinch Road when he came upon the scene on Saturday afternoon.
Fourteen people were taken to hospital after a double-decker bus carrying a party of wedding guests overturned on Saturday afternoon on the Ballynahinch Road near Lisburn. Picture: Cliff DonaldsonFourteen people were taken to hospital after a double-decker bus carrying a party of wedding guests overturned on Saturday afternoon on the Ballynahinch Road near Lisburn. Picture: Cliff Donaldson
Fourteen people were taken to hospital after a double-decker bus carrying a party of wedding guests overturned on Saturday afternoon on the Ballynahinch Road near Lisburn. Picture: Cliff Donaldson

David McAuley and son John, who run The Fire Place on Wardsborough Road helped screaming and crying women and children from the crashed vehicle three miles from Lisburn when they came upon the accident.

Fourteen people were taken to hospital - one of which had a broken a pelvis - after the private hire vehicle owned by Belfast Tours Ltd toppled into a field around 4pm.

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The vehicle was carrying 60 passengers and heading to Monalto estate in Ballynahinch after the wedding at Fisherwick Presbyterian Church in Belfast.

It’s believed the driver was forced to swerve the vehicle as it avoided a lorry and then toppled over into a field around 4pm.

David and son John helped free the passengers, many of them women and children, from the wrecked vehicle.

When the bus driver was able to free himself he then called the emergency services for help.

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David then helped passengers as they climbed out of the bus window and reassured them help was on the way. One of the passengers kicked in a window to free other passengers from the wreckage.

“There was no mad panic but there was one woman screaming saying that the bus was going to blow up - I had to reassure her that it was a diesel vehicle and not petrol and it was not going to blow up,” he said.

“There was a lot of squealing and a lot of young women crying but there was no real mad panic. There was one woman who had blood streaming down her face. Passengers were literally just flung across the bus when it crashed. They were all very lucky.

“When we arrived I didn’t know what I was going to see. I feared the worst. I was nearly scared to look inside the vehicle.

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“It was a sturdy bus so it took the impact of the crash,” said David. “If the bus had been modern there would have definitely been a lot more casualties.

“They were all just very lucky that there were not more people injured or anyone killed. They were all very shocked. They left the wedding in a jovial mood and I’m sure they did not expect that.”

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said none of the guests had suffered life-threatening injuries.

“We sent 11 vehicles to the scene along with a doctor and ambulance officer,” said NIAS spokesman John McPoland.

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“Fourteen people were hospitalised. Seven were taken to the Lagan Valley Hospital and seven were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, all with non-life threatening injuries.

“The 46 other people were checked out at the scene.”

Lagan Valley MLA Paul Givan said: “This is a very busy road, it’s a 60 miles per hour speed limit and there are a number of junctions on it where there is a history of collisions, so we need to find out what the cause of this was.

“On a day when you’re celebrating a wedding to be involved in something like this is what nobody would want, so my thoughts are with them.”

Uel Mackin, Downshire Councillor had been visiting with his mother, who lives close to the scene, a short time after the accident happened. He welcomed the prompt action of the Emergency Services in what was a very difficult situation.

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“The A49 Old Ballynahinch and Magheraknock Road is a very dangerous stretch of roadway,” he said. “There are many

hidden dips, blind access points, narrowing stretches and soft verges.

“These together with significant speeding have in recent years contributed to many accidents, some of which, sadly, were fatal. Minister Edwin Poots and myself have been in discussion with the Roads Service and the Department for some time now with a view to introducing measures that will increase safety for road users.”

Councillor Luke Poots praised the emergency services for their work.

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“The emergency services had a huge role to play in this in evacuating the bus, diverting traffic so not to cause further accident and the medical assistance given to those in the accident,” he said.

The police are keen to hear from the driver of grey coloured horse box lorry who did not remain at the scene. Anyone who can help the police with their enquiries should ring them on 0845 600 8000 or use the Crimestoppers number is 0800 555 111

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