Police said the man died in the early hours of Monday (Niall Carson/PA)
A major incident has been declared following a crash involving a school bus in Co Down.
The accident happened on the Ballyblack Road East in Carrowdore, near Newtownards, on Monday afternoon.
Police have asked motorists to avoid the area and said diversions are in place following the single vehicle crash.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it’s dealing with a major incident involving a bus with up to 70 passengers.
It said multiple resources including the Air Ambulance have been despatched to the scene.
Posting to Facebook it said: “Please only call 999 if your situation is life-threatening while we deal with this incident”
Local councillor Robert Adair said the vehicle is a school bus.
“Praying everyone is safe and would ask motorists to use alternative routes,” he posted on social media.
It’s understood the bus was transporting pupils from Strangford College to Newtownards at the time of the crash.
It is understood that children were pulled out of windows of the vehicle which tipped over into a nearby field.
Parents of uninjured children have received telephone calls advising them to collect their kids from a local police station.
An eyewitness said described the scene “like a battlefield” and said they have no doubt “other parents will be getting calls telling them to go to the hospital”.
More to follow…
