A harrowing coach crash in Minehead has left one child dead and more than 20 others injured, with two children sustaining serious wounds. The accident occurred when a coach carrying schoolchildren home from a trip to Exmoor Zoo slid 20 feet down an embankment near the A396.
Emily Manning, aged 10, narrowly avoided tragedy. Although she had spent the day with friends on the school trip, her father explained that the return coach she intended to join was already full. She found a seat on a different bus that ultimately returned safely to Minehead Middle School.
Tragically, the second coach veered off Cutcombe Hill and tumbled down a ravine, trapping several passengers and the driver. Emergency services, assisted by an off-duty firefighter who helped pull victims from the wreck, airlifted two seriously injured children to hospital. Sadly, one Year 5 pupil died at the scene.
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In the aftermath, tributes have been laid at the gates of Minehead Middle School. Emily reflected on her narrow escape, saying, “I wanted to be on the second coach because that’s where my friends were, but there were too many people so I got off. It was upsetting, but I also felt incredibly lucky.”
Her father, Nick Manning, described the horror of receiving the news. “I was at work when I got a call asking if I had picked up Emily yet because something terrible had happened. Every parent’s nightmare,” he said. He expressed profound relief that Emily was not on the bus involved in the crash.
Local residents swiftly mobilized to support those affected. In Wheddon Cross, a relief centre was set up in the village hall, where volunteers like Jill Thompson, Chair of the hall, welcomed survivors. She recounted the emotional moment a child survivor ran to his mother. “It was devastating, but the entire village rallied together. Many of us have children who could have been on that bus. It’s absolutely horrific.”
Authorities from Avon and Somerset Police and Somerset Council have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash. They have urged the public to refrain from speculation and allow emergency services to conduct their work.