Investigation underway into dramatic collision

AN INVESTIGATION is underway after a bus operating between Omagh town centre and the Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex was involved in a collision on Tuesday morning.

The dramatic incident happened shortly before 9am when the 384e service was returning from the hospital.

It is understood that the vehicle veered across the road at Lower Market Street, before hitting a car and then crashing into a lamp-post in what appears to have been a freak accident.

Staff and customers at a nearby salon had a lucky escape too, as the vehicle smashed to a halt just inches from their glass-fronted premises.

They spoke of hearing a loud bang and then turned around, to see the bus coming to a standstill at the railings on the bridge over the Drumragh River.

No injuries were reported as a result of the collision, but a number of pedestrians were in the immediate vicinity at the time.

The PSNI spent around an hour directing traffic away from the area, before Translink officials eventually removed the vehicle.

The bus sustained damage to its windscreen, while damage was also caused to the car which was traveling out of Omagh towards Campsie when the collision happened.

A spokesperson for Translink said that there were no passengers on the bus at the time of the collision.