A 17-year-old schoolgirl died Wednesday in a bus crash as heavy snowstorms paralysed transport links and cut power to thousands of people in Scotland and northern England, emergency services said.
Eleven other children were injured in the early morning accident in southern Scotland when the bus plunged over the side of a bridge in heavy blizzards, while travelling to the Alton Towers theme park.
Four of the children were seriously injured and taken to hospital, in what a local resident said were "absolutely atrocious" conditions.
Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England have been hit by freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls since Tuesday, in a reversal of recent springlike weather.
More than 300 motorists had to be rescued overnight in the Londonderry region of Northern Ireland, while 45,000 homes had their power cut in Northern Ireland, and nearly 20,000 in Scotland.
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