Schoolgirl injured in 'horrific' Fermanagh bus fall

Pupils from St Kevin's College were attending a Mass to celebrate the opening of the school

A schoolgirl was left semi-conscious by a roadside after falling through a rear window of a bus in County Fermanagh.

The 16-year-old pupil was returning to St Kevin's College in Lisnaskea from a trip when the bus window collapsed and she was thrown into the road on Monday.

She was found lying on the grass verge by the school's principal, Gary Kelly.

"It really was horrific, quite horrific," he said. "She was really quite badly cut up."

He said the window was understood to have given way when the bus turned a corner and the girl leaned on it.

Mr Kelly found the window further along the road.

"I saw the whole window of the bus and the rubber frame," he told the BBC.

'Unprecedented'

The incident was first reported by the Fermanagh Herald newspaper.

The pupil was assessed at hospital and found to have no serious head or spinal injuries, but she has not yet returned to school.

"She's an A-star girl, a brilliant child," said Mr Kelly.

The girl had been travelling in a yellow Education Authority bus with other pupils, two teachers and an assistant.

Some 600 pupils had been returning in several buses from a celebratory Mass to mark the school's opening on 11 September, following the amalgamation of two local schools.

The Education Authority said it was investigating the circumstances of the incident, but that it would be "inappropriate to comment further at this stage".

A spokesperson said the incident was unprecedented, and not related to an emergency exit on the bus.