The mother of a child injured in a school bus crash in Co Down has said they have been left worried about getting on a bus again.
Four children needed hospital treatment after double-decker vehicle overturned into a field near Newtownards.
The bus was carrying 43 children and the driver from Strangford Integrated College to Bangor when the crash happened on Monday afternoon.
Education Minister Paul Givan was at the college on Tuesday where he met with principal Clare Foster.
He said his department was doing everything it could to support the pupils and families affected.
“I felt it was important to come along and give my support to Mrs Foster and to all who have been responding to this incident,” he said.
“Whenever we witnessed those scenes it was a shock to us all.
“The school has been living that experience and has been providing exceptional support over the last 24 hours.
“It is every parent’s worst nightmare to get a call or find out on social media that there has been an incident like this.
“There will now be an investigation and the police will carry that out. Translink will be reviewing the incident and I want to see their report.”
One mother said she had brought her daughter, who is on crutches with possible fractures in her foot, in for counselling as the traumatic impact of the accident begins to hit home.
“She has been talking to her friends as children do but there has been a lot of gossip and speculation across social media which isn’t helpful,” she said.
“It was a very scary situation for everyone. I was stuck in Belfast when I got the call. My father was able to go to the scene. All I could hear on the phone was the screaming of children. It was panic.
“She is concerned about getting on a bus again. But we have already talked about it and it will be better to do that sooner rather than later. We have little alternative to using public transport for school but we want to hear everything will be done to make it as safe as possible. The Education Minister admitted there would be multiple issues to deal with as a result of the incident.
“That’s not just concerning the buses schoolchildren are travelling on, it’s the conditions of the roads, particularly in a rural community.
“I don’t know what happened in this incident. The police will investigate. But as an Executive we need to make sure roads are upgraded where they need to be. All departments need to work together on that.
“Basic maintenance is important but it is a challenge with limited resources. Rural roads are by their nature difficult to drive on but we have to make them as safe as possible. Over 50,000 pupils use the school public transport system every day. I will make sure that any lessons from this are learned.”
Education Minister meets with Principal of Strangford College after serious bus incident on Monday
She said any investigation needs to go much further.
“I would like to have heard that after this has happened they would have looked at a multi-agency risk assessment on the full scenario,” she said.
“It’s okay to say we will receive a report and read it, but there needs to be an adequate risk assessment now on the use of double-decker buses on these rural roads and on the roads themselves.
“Only by assessing all the potential dangers will we be able to lay the foundation for a safe transport system to ensure an accident like this never happens again in a rural setting.”
Mrs Foster, the school principal, said the incident had been ” incredibly disturbing” but praised the emergency services and members of the public who stopped to support and provide first aid.
“We are pleased the young people are talking about this today,” she said.
“They and their families will get all the support they need after the trauma they have been through.”
The school bus involved in yesterday’s crash is removed from the scene this morning.
Photo Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press
Mr Givan said road safety was a priority for the Executive.
He added: “I don’t know what happened in this incident. The police will investigate.
“But as an Executive we need to make sure roads are upgraded where they need to be. All departments need to work together on that.
“Basic maintenance is important but it is a challenge with limited resources.
“Rural roads are by their nature difficult to drive on but we have to make them as safe as possible. Over 50,000 pupils use the school public transport system every day.
“I will make sure that any lessons from this are learned.”