Two women have had to be cut free from a London bus after it crashed into a shop on Lavender Hill early this morning.
Several people were injured when the number 77 bus smashed into the shop close to Clapham Junction train station at around 7am.
Six people were treated by London Ambulance Service including the driver of the bus who was taken to hospital.
A nurse on the scene said that the driver had told her that he had blacked and did not remember hitting anything.
Firefighters had to cut at least one woman out of the side of the bus and a crane was used in the evacuation of the top deck.
Andrew Matthews, 34, of Wandsworth Town, said he was one of around a dozen passengers on the bus.
He told the Press Association: ‘I was on the top floor at the back, fortunately. I noticed the bus drifting. I heard a smash and saw the roof of the shop going through (the bus) from the front left. It went to the fourth or fifth row.
‘I wedged myself in, bracing myself. As soon as the bus came to a stop there was yelling, screaming.
‘I noticed a lady wedged in the front right-hand side. She was screaming for help. There was a lot of blood.’
Nurse Amy Mullineux, 40, of Wandsworth Common, was also on the bus and said the driver told her he had lost consciousness before the crash.
‘I spoke to him. He said he blacked out before the bus hit the shop. He doesn’t remember hitting anything. The paramedic told me they think he had some kind of fit.’
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from under the bus
Solange Morin, 33, lives close to the scene and was hoping to catch the bus before she saw it crash.
She said: ‘I saw this woman (in the bus) shouting and banging on the glass. Everybody shouted “fire, fire”.
‘I went on to the bus. I talked to her and was holding her hands. She was pinned. I wouldn’t have been able to get her out.
‘She was so scared because people were shouting fire. There was a lot of smoke.’
A Transport for London spokeswoman said a route 77 double-decker bus was involved in the incident in Wandsworth.
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