Nine dead in holiday coach accident
In May last year a long awaited dream holiday turned into everyone’s worst nightmare as a simple coach journey ended in tragedy. The coach was carrying 40 European and North American holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sham el-Sheik […]
In May last year a long awaited dream holiday turned into everyone’s worst nightmare as a simple coach journey ended in tragedy.
The coach was carrying 40 European and North American holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sham el-Sheik to the Egyptian capital of Cairo when the coach accident happened on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, 70 miles south of Suez.
The coach left the road, hitting a concrete barrier before rolling and bursting into flames. The fire gutted the vehicle causing many of the passengers to suffer from severe burns. Nine people were killed in the coach crash and almost 30 others were injured.
The holidaymakers, from Canada, Italy Russia, the Ukraine and Britain, suffered from various injuries including burns and broken bones. One woman was even reported to have had her hand severed in the tragedy. Two British people were known to be among the injured: Philip Palmer, 43 and his wife Sandra, 49. While Philip was lucky to escape with just cuts and bruises, his wife suffered a broken finger and a suspected broken rib.
The coach accident occurred just a month after another fatal coach crash in Ecuador where four young British women were killed along with their British, female tour guide as they were enjoying a gap year adventure.
Both Egypt and Ecuador are known for their dangerous roads where accidents are frequent.
These tragedies are clearly, but unfortunately, not stand alone incidents or confined to foreign countries as just two months later, in August 2008; a coach was in a fatal accident near Alton Towers.
The coach was carrying 71 passengers from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and South Africa, on a day trip to the theme park Alton Towers when the coach crash occurred. There had recently been a torrential downpour making the already difficult road, treacherous. The coach was on a narrow, steep stretch of road when it failed to make the tight bend and instead collided with two cars in a driveway before smashing through a wall and falling on its side in a garden.
A 26 year old Polish man was pronounced dead at the scene while 3 others were said to be in a critical condition. The driver, who was from Lincolnshire, was also said to be seriously injured while 21 of the other passengers were taken to local hospitals, six had to be immobilised with spinal boards and neck collars and there were 44 ‘walking wounded’. Two air ambulances, 10 land ambulances, 5 rapid response vehicles and five fire engines were at the scene dealing with the casualties.
The staff canteen at Alton Towers was turned into a refuge for the wounded as they awaited help and treatment. Interpreters were also required when police realised that the victims, most of them farm workers, spoke little English making it difficult to establish how many people were on board the coach when the accident happened. However by nightfall all the passengers were accounted for.
Bradley Ford, 20, was the first person to arrive on the scene of the coach accident and, having just passed his St John’s Ambulance course, began administering first aid. His 12 year old brother, Lyndon, also helped comfort the victims as they awaited help. Their mother Ann said the accident scene was “like something out of a disaster film with people screaming everywhere…I am very proud of Bradley he really helped.”
Margaret Grice, 59, called 999 after about 15 passengers knocked on her door for aid. Margaret, who runs a milk delivery service, said she “heard this almighty rumble. The next thing I knew there were people banging furiously on the front door. When I opened it there were ten to fifteen of them with blood pouring from wounds to their heads, arms and bodies. It was a shocking sight I called 999 and fetched blankets for them. I just did what I could. The only word they could say in English was ‘accident’. They just kept repeating it over and over again. They were in a terrible state – extremely shaken up.”
Reginald Shaw, 82, who lives just 200 yards from the coach crash scene, is the former chairman of Alton Parish Council and he said “we have been campaigning for 25years for relief road to Alton Towers. That is a very winding, niggly stretch of road and there are sometimes 200 coaches a day coming along it. But our pleas have been deferred by the Towers, because they thought a new road would be too expensive, or be a problem. Now they’ve got a really serious problem.
Martin Bredda, another resident added that it was an “accident waiting to happen…It’s an extremely dangerous road. It’s a narrow country road. It’s mayhem, absolute mayhem. We had a torrential downpour of rain just before it happened.”
The passengers in a coach accident are innocent victims and are therefore able to make a claim for compensation for any injury they have suffered as a result of an incident. If you have been injured in any coach crash you need to seek advice from a specialist personal injury solicitor.
Macks Solicitors is an independent law firm with specialist solicitors who are happy to discuss making a claim for compensation with passengers who have been injured in coach accidents.
We never take referrals from claims companies or work for insurers so our clients know that we are working in their best interests alone.