Boy, 10, dead as nine in hospital after Somerset coach crash

A school’s head teacher says she feels “complete devastation” after one of her pupils was killed in a coach crash.

A 10-year-old boy died after a coach returning pupils to Minehead Middle School after a trip to Exmoor Zoo crashed in Somerset on Thursday.

Six other children remain in hospital – two at Bristol Children’s Hospital and four in Somerset. Three adults are also being treated in hospital in Somerset, police say.

The school’s head teacher Laura Mackie said the loss was “unimaginable”, adding: “[I’m] thinking of the student that we lost, their family, their friends, all of their loved ones.”

Avon and Somerset Police declared a major incident after the single-vehicle collision at Cutcombe Hill near Wheddon Cross at about 15:00 BST on Thursday.

The coach flipped onto its roof and slid down a bank.

Local mother-of-two Lianna O’Connor said: “I think as a community it’s just as one mum cries, every other mum cries.”

The coach was carrying about 70 people, many of them pupils from Minehead Middle School. In total, 21 passengers were taken to hospital.

Avon and Somerset Police said an investigation into the cause of the crash will take place and they have urged witnesses to come forward.

“Recovery of the vehicle and collision investigation are complex, and we expect the road to remain closed for a considerable time,” a police spokesperson added.

Cranes are being used to recover the overturned coach.

One father said his 10-year-old daughter was on the school trip, but travelled on a different coach.

“I was able to pick [my daughter] up from school and didn’t know anything until we got home,” he said.

“It’s just unbelievable isn’t it?

“[I’m] absolutely devastated for the families and people on the bus that crashed.”

The school’s headteacher Laura Mackie laid flowers and said she was feeling “absolute devastation and heartbreak”.

“[I’m] thinking of my staff team who are amazing, dedicated, and all of our wonderful students that have been affected and impacted by this awful, awful incident. It’s just been horrific,” she added.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said she was working with Somerset Council to seek funding from central government for therapy for the affected children.

Ms Gilmour said she was “completely distraught” after the crash in her constituency.

She said: “One becomes an MP and bizarrely, we don’t think about this sort of thing, we think about the NHS and looking after our farmers and things like that.

“And then this, this is what being a community MP is all about. I’ve just been in to see the head teacher, I’m a big hugger, so I’ve been giving a lot of hugs today.”

A spokesperson for Exmoor Zoo said they “cannot believe that fate has been so cruel to such a lovely, lively, well-behaved group of children”.

“All our thoughts, blessings and prayers go out to everybody involved, we cannot comprehend what the children, their parents, teachers and emergency crews are all going through now,” they added.