A school bus and a truck have crashed, trapping several students

Dozens of children are lucky to be alive after an extraordinary crash between a school bus and a truck which trapped several of them inside.

Ten schoolchildren have been seriously injured when their school bus flipped onto its side after a crash with a truck, trapping several of the children.

A senior police office said it was “very lucky” none of the nearly 50 primary school children on board had been killed.

“The scene is obviously a really significant scene, the bus has suffered significant damage and it’s also overturned,” Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Cruse said.

“So it’s very fortunate that the incident isn’t more serious, but I must stress it’s still a very serious incident.”

Emergency services rushed to the scene at the corner of Exford and Murphys Rd in Eynesbury on Melbourne’s western fringe about 3.40pm on Tuesday.

There were chaotic scenes as dozens of CFA, SES, paramedic and police personnel worked desperately to free the children from the bus, while bystanders, parents and teachers from the local school comforted others.

Ambulance Victoria says the 10 children have been taken to hospital, along with an adult and three other child in a stable condition.

Emergency services are working to free the trapped people, believed to be mostly children, on board the bus. Photo: 7 News

The majority of children have been rescued from the bus. Photo: 9 News

Photos from the scene show dozens of emergency workers freeing those trapped on board through an emergency exit.

Superintendent Cruse said 46 people, including the bus driver, had been in the bus.

He said police believe the bus was trying to turn right into Murphys Rd before the truck collided with its rear wheel.

A number of children were helped out of the bus by good Samaritans before emergency services arrived on the scene.

A mother who’s child was on the bus spoke about the horror of having her child involved.

“We raced down here, there was tears and emotion, (my daughter) was frightened, she has scratches, blood on her hands,” Nicole Kirk told 9 News.

“She was more concerned about her friends; she had her seatbelt on and she was fine.

“We are one of the lucky ones.”

Dozens of children were on the bus and 10 were seriously injured. Photo: 9 News

Ms Kirk's daughter was one of the "lucky ones" in the crash but that didn’t stop the ordeal from being terrifying. Photo: 9 News

Though several children were injured, Superintendent Cruse said the incident could have been a lot worse.

“It’s very lucky,” he said.

The accident happened close to Exford Primary School about 3.45pm.

The 49-year-old truck driver stopped at the scene and is assisting police with their inquiries.

Originally published as A school bus and a truck have crashed, trapping several students