‘Several people seriously injured’ after horror stairway collapse in popular seaside town
Several people have been left ‘seriously injured’ and one person was airlifted to hospital after a stairway collapsed in a popular seaside town in Cornwall.
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Emergency services rushed to the horrific incident in Carthew Terrace in St Ives, Cornwall, around 7 pm Sunday evening.
A number of people were left injured in the collapse, with one person having to be airlifted almost 80 miles to the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
Police confirmed there were “significant injuries”, but did not say how many people were affected by the incident which involved an external staircase.
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Police, firefighters and paramedics remained on the scene of the crash, which took place at a block of flats in a quiet residential street by the seafront, as of around 9 pm.
Social media reports also said Cornwall’s air ambulance attended the scene, but only one person seemingly got airlifted.
Helen Randall, who owns the property, said the stairs gave way when her relatives were visiting on Sunday evening, describing it as “your worst nightmare”.
Her aunt suffered potentially life-changing injuries and was the person who was airlifted to Derriford hospital, she told the BBC.
Her mother stayed at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, and her brother and his wife had been discharged after suffering broken bones.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "At about 7pm this evening fire and ambulance attended a property on Carthew Terrace to report of an external stairway collapse.
“There have been significant injuries, one person has been airlifted to Derriford Hospital.
"At this time police are attending to support the investigation on behalf of the health and safety executive and there are scene closures in place at Carthew Terrace."There is no wider risk to the public."
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said they had received a call shortly before 7 pm.
They said: "We sent four double-crewed land ambulances, two air ambulances, two first responders and an operations officer to the scene.
"We conveyed one patient by air ambulance to Derriford Hospital and three other patients via land ambulances to Treliske Hospital."