Pickens County Fire Rescue responded to a motor vehicle accident last night around 10:15 p.m. on Camp Hope Road located just off of Grandview Road.

First arriving units discovered a large passenger bus destined for Camp Hope had left the winding roadway on a curve. Upon scene assessment, crews determined that the bus was loaded with 39 passengers, including 38 youth and one bus driver that could not exit the bus through the door because of the dangerous resting position of the bus itself.

Pickens 911 operators requested A & T Towing on initial dispatch who arrived on scene to stabilize the bus from potentially tipping over and down a steep embankment. Once stabilized, emergency personnel developed a plan to remove the occupants from the bus through the emergency window exits.

All passengers were removed without incident and transported to Camp Hope.

Fire rescue officials say other than a few passengers shaken-up, there were no injuries to any of the passengers or emergency personnel on scene.

Rescuers decided to let the bus remain at its location until daylight when retrieval efforts will be initiated.