'I thought it was a BOMB': Passengers tell of terrifying moment double-decker's roof was ripped off by a TREE in centre of London

'I thought it was a BOMB': Passengers tell of terrifying moment double-decker's roof was ripped off by a TREE in centre of London - leaving five passengers injured

• Bus had roof torn off after striking an overhanging tree in Kingsway, Holborn, at around 1pm today
• Two passengers were taken to hospital with facial injuries and three others hurt in crash outside King's College
• One passenger on board said tree had gone through top deck of the bus 'like a knife through butter'
• She had initially thought that the loud bang and jolt had been caused by a bomb 
• Fire brigade spokesman says passengers were 'lucky to escape serious injury' in 'freak accident'
• Pictures show bus next to a tree with skinned bark and a road sign warning of 'overhanging trees'
• Transport for London to launch full investigation into what caused the collision

Passengers on a double-decker bus which had its roof ripped off by a tree have told how they thought the vehicle had been targeted by a bomb. 

Startled passengers have told how the tree's branches cut through the vehicle 'like a knife through butter', scraping off the bus's roof to leave upper-floor seats and handrails visible outside. 

Five people were injured in the 'freak accident' on the 91 bus in Kingsway, Holborn, with one man left with a broken nose. 

One woman, sitting on the lower deck, said she thought the crashing she heard had been caused by a bomb.The bus was going down towards the college when I heard a big bang and felt a jolt and the bus came to a halt,' said Darcey Delaproser, a full-time carer. 

'I thought it could have been a bomb. I didn't expect it.

'We could see wires coming down the stairs. A fellow passenger and I went up the stairs to see what had happened. That's when I knew the roof had come off.

'The whole thing was cut off as though it had been sliced by a knife, like a knife through butter. If there had been anyone standing up on the top deck, they wouldn't stand a chance.'

The 51-year-old said there were five to six people on the top deck and about 12 or 13 people on the bottom.

 'It's a good thing the bus was quite empty, otherwise it could have been a lot worse.

'I saw one man with blood pouring from his nose get down of the top deck.. An elderly couple were on the top deck, they were in shock.

'There was a woman at the back, she was in shock. I think she was injured.

'I'm still in shock, I'm still trying to get my head around it. I'm definitely very lucky to be ok.' 

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.'

Llewelyn Hill was sitting on the bus's upper deck when the tree crashed through the windows.

'I got showered in all sorts of stuff, glass and whatever, and I instinctively ducked and when I looked up the roof was gone,' the 45-year-old told the Evening Standard. 

'The roof was literally just gone and in front of me a couple of metres ahead of me there was a chap on the floor. I think he'd been thrown off his seat and he was bloodied in the face. 

'There was pandemonium on the top deck and I heard a few screams but other than that most people were checking everybody was OK.'