Three teenagers and a man in his 50s have died following a head-on collision in Bolton, England.
On Sunday, Jan. 11, Greater Manchester Police announced in a press release that the crash between a red Seat Leon and a Citroen C4 Picasso happened that day at around 12:45 a.m on Wigan Road in Bolton, approximately 200 miles north of London.
Three teenagers, aged 18 and 19, were in the Seat Leon, while a taxi driver in his 50s was in the dark Citroen, according to the BBC and Sky News.
“The driver of the Seat, and two passengers have tragically died following the collision. The driver of the Citroen was also sadly pronounced dead at the scene,” police confirmed in their release.
They added, “Five injured passengers have been taken to [the] hospital, where they are currently being treated.”
PEOPLE has contacted Manchester Greater Police and Greater Fire and Rescue for further comment, but didn’t immediately receive a response
“A scene is still in place at this time as officers continue their investigation,” authorities continued. “The SCIU [Serious Collision Investigation Unit] are urging for anyone with information to please come forward.”
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement to Sky News, “At around 12.50 a.m. this morning, three fire engines and the technical response unit attended a crash involving a taxi and a car on Wigan Road, Bolton
“Firefighters arrived quickly to make the area safe and used cutting equipment to help remove people from the vehicles before passing them into the care of North West Ambulance Service,” they added.
“Greater Manchester Police assisted with cordoning the area. Crews were in attendance for roughly two hours,” the department concluded.
According to local funeral notices, the teenagers who died were named Muhammad Danyaal Asghar Ali, Farhan Patel and Mohammed Jibrael Mukhtar, the BBC reported, while the taxi driver was named Masrob Ali.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the identities of the victims.
Footage of the crash showed the cars colliding head-on before the vehicles and debris flew in multiple directions, per Sky News.
A resident who lived near the scene of the crash told The Bolton News that the collision occurred “exactly at 12.44am as I was texting my partner at the same time when I heard the very loud bang.”
“I heard a woman screaming very loudly, straight after the accident and then a few times afterwards,” they said. “She was a pedestrian who saw the accident happen in front of her eyes and started running in the opposite direction of the accident as she saw the bodies being crushed.”
“The police had to stop and pull her back because she was close to fainting,” the resident added.
A second resident told the outlet, “I can’t believe it, I heard the loudest bang and I saw them doing CPR [Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation] on a person who was in the car accident.”
I saw the taxi driver’s passenger, a woman, get out of the taxi, and there were two other people who were in the taxi unconscious,” he added.
Neelam Khan, another resident, told BBC North West Tonight that there had been previous crashes in the same spot before.
“I don’t understand how people don’t learn from previous accidents and this is probably the worst one yet,” she said, per the BBC. “It’s probably only going to get worse if nothing happens so maybe the police and council need to do something about it.”
Greater Manchester Police’s Chief Inspector Helen McCormick described the crash as a “devastating incident,” per the BBC.
“This was a particularly challenging scene for colleagues in the emergency services and I want to thank the first responders,” she said.
