Fifteen people have been taken to hospital after a bus veered into a pedestrian zone near Victoria station in central London on Thursday morning. The driver of the number 24 bus, passengers and passersby were injured in the collision, which occurred at approximately 8.20am.
Witnesses described hearing a loud crash as the bus smashed into barriers on Allington Street. Sam Genders, a maintenance worker at the scene, said: “It crashed into the barriers right in front of us. The bus driver crawled out the front covered in blood. All the glass was smashed. A lot of the passengers were injured.” His colleague Dave Short noted that emergency services arrived quickly and an air ambulance attended.
The London Ambulance Service said it treated 17 people, discharging two at the scene, with no fatalities. Mohammed Ali, a public safety officer at Victoria station, reported seeing about seven injured people and blood on the ground. He said the bus appeared to have lost control and driven straight into a pedestrian zone instead of turning right.
A large emergency response was deployed, including the air ambulance, paramedics, and fire service. Police cordoned off a large area, and the road remained closed for several hours. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation and appealed for witnesses.
Transport for London’s head of bus service delivery, Rosie Trew, expressed concern for those injured and confirmed that TfL is working with police and operator Transport UK to investigate the incident.
