Schoolboy in 30ft bridge fall saved by BACKPACK
A 12 YEAR-OLD boy who plunged 30 feet from a bridge outside a high school was saved his backpack.
The revelation was made as paramedics’ urgent response to the dramatic incident was shown in a BBC documentary.
The Year 8 pupil, named only as Alex, fell from a footbridge outside Mossley Hollins High School in Mossley, Tameside. He spent 12 days in hospital after breaking his pelvis. Medics said his backpack may have cushioned his fall and stopped him suffering more serious – or even fatal – injuries.
A number of 999 calls about the incident, on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 26 last year, were played in the episode of BBC One show Ambulance.
The incident, reported at the end of the school day just after 3pm, was labelled ‘category one,’ meaning it received the highest level of response, with an air ambulance – containing a specialist doctor and paramedic – being dispatched from City Airport.
A paramedic who was already at the scene with police said the boy fell through a glass panel before landing on his back, with his rucksack underneath him. Medics said they believed he bounced off a wall before landing on grass.
A message at the end of the programme said that ‘doctors agree that his rucksack saved his life.’ showing Alex being treated
In a statement to the M.E.N. after the incident, headteacher Stuart Marshall said staff and parents ran to help the boy at the scene before the emergency services arrived.
“An accident [took] place involving a pupil falling from the footbridge outside school after the end of the day,” he said. “Staff were on duty and immediately on the scene to help the pupil, as were a number of parents. The pupil has been taken to hospital. We’re keeping in close touch with the family and offering support. Support will be offered to any members of the school community who need it. Investigations are underway into the full circumstances of what happened.”
The Health and Safety Executive was called in to investigate and the bridge was temporarily closed.
In a further letter to parents published on the school’s website he said: “I am in regular contact with his parents and, along with the executive headteacher, have spoken with them.
“Our thoughts are with them. The children were not at fault in any way. I have taken the time to study the events outside the building on CCTV.”