- .Bus has roof torn off in crash in Kingsway, Holborn, today
- .Passengers and a motorist injured in crash outside King's College
- .Police and fire brigade currently at the scene of the collision
- .Passengers were 'lucky to escape serious injury' in 'freak accident'
Five people were injured after a London bus had its roof ripped off today by a tree in a 'freak accident'.
Pictures from the scene showed a double decker with upper-floor seats and handrails visible in Kingsway in the Holborn area of the capital.
It is thought the roof was torn off after the route 91 bus, which normally runs between Crouch End and Trafalgar Square, struck a tree just outside King's College.
Five people were injured after a London double decker bus had its roof ripped off today
Pictures on Twitter showed a double decker with upper-floor seats and handrails visible in Kingsway in the Holborn area of the capital
Shards of glass from the windows of the bus also littered the road, with the roof trailing behind the vehicle at an angle, as stunned passengers were seen still sitting on the ruined top deck.
Two people had to be taken to hospital with facial injuries, one with a broken nose, while another three were treated at the scene - next to a sign warning of overhanging trees.
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We treated five patients. We treated two patients for facial injuries, they were taken to St Thomas's Hospital.
'We treated two patients for minor injuries, they were not taken to hospital. We treated another patient for a knee injury. This patient was discharged at the scene.'
It is thought the roof was torn off after the bus struck a tree
Scotland Yard said bus passengers and a motorist had been injured in the collision
London Fire Brigade said on Twitter: 'We are at the scene of an accident on #Kingsway Holborn. A bus has lost its roof. Thankfully only minor injuries.'
At the scene London Fire Brigade station manager Gary Squires said: 'Those involved were very lucky to escape serious injury.'
He added: 'You can see the missing bark from the tree and the roof has come up and off the bus.
'This is a very unusual incident. It is a freak accident.'
Mr Squires said a man sitting on the top deck was left with a suspected broken nose while another passenger was taken to hospital with injuries to the side of their head.
Three others were treated at the scene and discharged.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Three passengers on the bus and one motorist - are currently being treated at the scene. We await further details.
'Inquiries are under way to ascertain the circumstances of the collision.'
Two people had to be taken to hospital with facial injuries, while another three were treated at the scene
Bus routes in the area had to be diverted with the road sealed off between Great Queen St and Aldwych. The Strand underpass was also closed and motorists reported long queues in the surrounding areas.
Builder Billy Comfort, 21, who was working across the road from the scene, said: 'I saw the bus drive into a tree and the roof came off.
'It was a bit shocking really, the emergency services arrived.
'There was one gentleman whose nose was bleeding holding a handkerchief to his face. There was a man and a woman at the back of the bus looking petrified.
Both police and the fire brigade are currently at the scene of the crash
Shards of glass from the windows of the bus also littered the road, with the roof trailing behind the vehicle, as stunned passengers were seen still sitting on the ruined top deck
'I couldn't believe it, it's not what you expect to see on a Monday. I could see a man at the front of the bus and this couple at the back who stayed seated there for 20 minutes to half an hour after the roof came off.'
Ethan Meade posted pictures of the damage, writing: 'Roof off the 91 bus just ripped off on Kingsway, next to #LSE.'
London School of Economics (LSE) student Mr Meade said he turned around when he heard a crash.
He said: 'I saw the roof fall down off the side of the bus, and the glass shatter everywhere. The passengers seemed to be sitting there pretty stunned as you'd expect. Police seemed to handle it very well.'
One eyewitness told MailOnline that the tree did not appear to have been damaged in the collision
Bus routes in the area had to be diverted with the road sealed off between Great Queen St and Aldwych
Pictures from the scene suggest that the bus may have clipped a tree overhanging the roadway.
One showed a tree with skinned bark next to a road sign that warned of 'overhanging trees' on the inside lane, behind where the bus had come to a halt.
The sign contained a warning that the inside lane was only suitable for vehicles 2.5 metres, or eight feet, three inches, high.
Ken Davidson, Transport for London’s Head of Bus Operations, said there would be a full investigation into the crash.
He said: 'At around 1pm today (2 February) a route 91 bus, operated by Metroline, collided with a tree on Kingsway at the junction with Portugal Street (WC2).
'Emergency services attended the scene and there will be a full investigation into this incident.'
Pictures from the scene suggest that the bus may have clipped a tree overhanging the roadway
Workers from the London Fire Brigade investigate the ruined top deck of the bus
At the scene London Fire Brigade station manager Gary Squires said: 'Those involved were very lucky to escape serious injury'
Fire crews at the scene of today's double decker crash. Two people were taken to hospital and three others treated at the scene
Transport for London is to launch a full investigation into the incident, which happened at around 1pm
Lauren Leonard, 29, who works in a nearby office, came out on her lunch break at around 1pm to find chaos in the street.
'The roof had been completely sliced off,' she told MailOnline.
'Everyone was huddling round so it must have happened just before I went outside. The police must have just arrived and they were cordoning off the road.
'We are all so confused, because people are saying it hit part of a tree, but the tree didn't seem damaged at all.
'No one can get down the street. I saw a guy being treated for a bloody nose and another being treated for shock.
'You never want to get on the top deck of a double decker again - I have never seen anything like it.'
It is thought the roof was torn off after the route 91 bus, which normally runs between Crouch End and Trafalgar Square, struck a tree just outside King's College
The roof of the bus appeared to have been torn clean off in the crash earlier this afternoon
Broken glass is scattered across Kingsway, which has been cordoned off and is surrounded by fire engines and police
Firefighters described the collision with the tree as a 'freak accident' and an 'unusual incident'
Builder Billy Comfort, 21, who was working across the road from the scene, said he saw the bus drive into a tree when the roof came off
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