Calls for 'full inquiry' into Piccadilly Gardens tram and bus crash which left four injured

The driver of a bus involved in a head-on crash with a tram in Manchester city centre yesterday is being treated in hospital for serious injuries, police have said.

Three bus passengers also suffered minor injuries in the smash on Mosley Street at around 2.15pm. Witnesses described hearing a 'loud bang' before the crash, which brought a large part of the city centre to standstill and saw an air ambulance land on Piccadilly Gardens.

It's not immediately clear how the bus came to be on the tram lines in that location. That section of Mosley Street is a one way bus lane with vehicles only permitted to travel towards Piccadilly Gardens, before turning right into the bus station.

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But when the crash happened the bus was facing in the opposite direction towards St Peter's Square. The driver may have mistakenly taken a sharp left out of the bus station into the path of the oncoming tram, or lost control while navigating the tight turning circle on Parker Street.

It's understood the bus company Stagecoach and Metrolink are sharing CCTV footage of the incident. No arrests have been made.

Last night city centre spokesperson Pat Karney called for 'a full inquiry' into the circumstances of the crash.

He said: "[I] still can't figure out what caused it. Hope all recover from this trauma."

A statement from North West Ambulance Service said: "We’re responding to an RTC at Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, following a 999 call at 2.13pm.

"Three ambulance crews, a consultant paramedic, a senior paramedic, a critical care team in an air ambulance and the Hazardous Area Response Team have all attended. Four patients are being treated, one with suspected serious injuries."

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) added: "At just after 2.40pm on Friday three fire engines from Withington, Manchester Central and Wythenshawe fire stations plus the technical response unit from Leigh fire station attended a crash involving a bus and a tram on Mosley Street, Manchester.

"Firefighters, working alongside colleagues from Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service and Metrolink, are using specialist cutting equipment to rescue one casualty from the bus. Crews were in attendance for around one and a half hours."