A39 Somerset: Road re-opens after over-turned double-decker bus

A road has reopened after a double-decker bus carrying 70 Hinkley Point C workers overturned in icy road conditions in Somerset.

Initially declared a major incident, police attended the crash, which also involved a motorcyclist, on the A39 near Cannington at about 06:00 GMT.

There were 70 people on board the bus and 54 patients were treated at the scene.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Police said there were no fatalities.

The crash was downgraded from a major incident shortly after noon.

Police are no longer treating the crash as a major incident

Insp Rebecca Wells-Cole said 26 of the 54 patients were "walking wounded" and being treated at Bridgwater minor injury unit and Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

"The incident was initially declared as a major incident due to the number of people involved and the resources required," she said.

A spokesperson for the NHS in Somerset confirmed a "small number" of passengers on the bus required surgery.

They said in a statement: "As of 3pm today, 27 patients were treated at the minor injuries unit in Bridgwater and a further 26 were treated at the emergency department at Musgrove Park Hospital for injuries consistent with a serious traffic collision.

"A small number require surgery and some have been admitted to inpatient wards."

Avon and Somerset Police said 53 crashes were reported on Monday evening

The spokesperson added: "A further three patients were taken to Southmead Hospital, Bristol, where they received treatment, but none have needed to be admitted to hospital.

"We would like to thank all our colleagues, including those who came in on their day off, as well as the emergency services who have been involved and supporting, and we wish all patients involved a speedy recovery."

The crash site is about eight miles away from the nuclear power station, which is currently under construction.

EDF Energy is building two new nuclear reactors there and it is the first new nuclear power station to be built in the UK in more than 20 years.

Police are advising the public to only travel where absolutely essential due to the treacherous driving conditions

About 8,500 people work on the site with more than 5,500 workers using buses to get there.

A spokesman for Hinkley Point said: "Emergency services are on the scene and travel to and from the site has been suspended."

Charis Ware, 45, who lives close to the scene of the crash, told BBC West she was woken by "banging, shouting and horns blowing and screaming".

She said she had counted at least 20 emergency service vehicles at the scene.

Charis Ware was woken by the noise of the crash

"All I could hear was noise, lots of shouting," Ms Ware said.

"This is quite a busy road and we do have regular accidents but this one being quite a serious incident shook us all."

By 15:40 GMT on Tuesday, recovery teams had managed to right the bus, although the road remained closed.

The bus was back on its wheels by Tuesday afternoon

Avon and Somerset Police say 53 crashes were reported on Monday evening.

Police said a further 67 calls were received for other road-related incidents, between 18:00 and 23:00 on Monday, taking the total number of reports to more than 100 in five hours.

"The conditions are extremely icy and dangerous due to the freezing conditions overnight and residual water on the road from the past week's wet weather," a spokesperson for police said.

Seven of these incidents were reported to have resulted in injuries, but they are not thought to be serious.

Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said: "Obviously it was a terrifying experience for everyone on that bus and my thoughts are with them and their families.

"But we absolutely must get to the bottom of why this crash occurred because EDF is very conscious of the need to maintain the highest safety standards for the protection of their workers - and that concern naturally extends to those periods when they are being transferred to and from the site.

"I am aware police have been reporting a high number of accidents in the area this morning, all of them blamed on icy road conditions.

"We need to establish as soon as we can whether similar circumstances played a role in this particular event."

At the scene - Correspondent Phil Mackie

Locals call it a "red route" because they hear so many sirens and see so many emergency vehicles responding to incidents.

They say this is the worst crash in recent memory. EDF said the drivers it uses to transport workers to and from the site are highly trained and drive "defensively".

The bus, despite toppling over isn't as badly damaged as you might expect, which seems to indicate it wasn't travelling very fast.

Police have been clearing debris from the road and collecting the injured workers' belongings. The operation to recover the vehicles is under way. The road is likely to be reopened this afternoon

A Met Office yellow warning for ice across central areas of the UK is in place, as temperatures reached a low of -2C in Somerset last night.

"We have seen a significantly higher number of road-related collisions and incidents in the past 12 hours, which has increased the demand on police resources," added Supt Runacres.

A significant number of police, fire and ambulance units are at the scene of the A39.