MIRACLE AS NO ONE DIED IN A 130 CARS HORROR ACCIDENT
Police have said it is ‘truly miraculous’ no one died in a 130-car pile-up on the Isle of Sheppey Crossing, which saw eight people taken to hospital with serious injuries and dozens others hurt.
There was thick fog this morning in parts of south-east England and while a spokeswoman for Kent police said that visibility was a problem over the bridge, it is still unclear whether this was a major catalyst for the crash. Police have said it was a ‘miracle’ that nobody died (Picture: PA)
The scene was described as a web of tangled cars after vehicles reportedly piled into each other for ten minutes straight on the London-bound carriageway.
There were eight serious injuries and 60 minor injuries.
Chief inspector Andy Reeve, of Kent police, said: ‘From my perspective, it’s truly miraculous. It’s very fortunate there were no fatalities.’
A lorry driver was being hailed as a hero this afternoon after reportedly blocking the entrance to the bridge to stop more cars ploughing into each other.
Medway Maritime Hospital has said it has cancelled all routine surgery so that it can concentrate on those affected by the crash.
‘At 9.45am the trust received the first casualty from the accident who is now being treated for multiple serious injuries,’ a spokeswoman said.
Images like this one posted on Twitter by Jamie Mett showed the extent of the pile-up (Picture: PA)
The Isle of Sheppey sits on the north Kent coast between Canterbury and Gillingham.
The crash happened just before 7.15am today, after which 30 ambulances and six fire engines tended to the site.
The accident took place during misty conditions (Picture: PA/Joe Root)
AA president Edmund King criticised irresponsible drivers that tailgate in thick fog and speculated that today’s carnage could have been the result of motorists failing to give appropriate distance to other road users.
South East Coast Ambulance Service said that there was a wide range of injuries from seriously injured to walking wounded, with 35 having been transported from the site to six nearby hospitals. No more are expected to be transferred.
‘We have set up triage at the scene and are treating patients,’ a spokesperson said.
A worker carries a piece of the wreckage from the 130-car crash (Picture: Reuters)
Witnesses have given their accounts of the horrific incident, describing ‘cars upside-down on other cars’.
Valentine Elad, 46, said: ‘There was a black four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi upside-down on a small white car, and an Audi upside-down on the bonnet of another car. It was horrible.
Cars reportedly crashed into one another for 10 minutes (Picture: PA)
‘A car hit me from behind. I pulled on my handbrake, then in the same second, he was hit from behind, and hit me a second time.
‘The guy in the car behind me was soaked in blood, he was badly injured.’
Neil Greig, a policy and research director at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said today’s crash is the ‘biggest single fog accident that Britain has ever had’.
Paramedics attend to the injured with some seen wearing neck braces (Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA)
Stranded motorists said that emergency services and charities such as the British Red Cross and Salvation Army were providing them with water, crisps and biscuits.
A spokeswoman for the Salvation Army said: ‘Due to the soaring temperatures, a shelter has been erected and cold beverages are being served at the scene to help victims and rescuers.’
Comments
Post a Comment