Man hurt after vehicle falls from airport car park

A man has suffered serious injuries after a vehicle fell from a multi-storey car park at London Luton Airport.

Emergency services were called to Car Park One shortly before 11:00 BST and police said one person was believed to have been seriously hurt and had been taken to hospital.

An airport spokesperson confirmed they had been taken to hospital for "further assessment".

Bedfordshire Police said its officers, along with ambulance and fire crews, were called to the scene.

The vehicle involved is understood to have fallen from an upper level of the car park.

Photos have shown a barrier missing on the third storey - level two - of the multi-storey building.

BBC reporter Helen Mulroy said the car appeared to be on its side on the ground and wedged against the side of the car park.

A crane was seen positioned above the vehicle, which has now been removed.

People at the scene told the BBC the car, with one man inside, appeared to turn the wrong way when exiting the car park.

It then crashed to the ground.

Terminal Car Park One is a four-minute walk from the main airport building and has options for motorists to park their vehicles themselves or use meet-and-greet services.

Passengers due to have their cars delivered to the car park by third-party services remain in a long-stay site further away from the terminal.

They have been told to collect them from there instead.

In a statement, the airport said: "Arriving vehicles are being redirected to the airport's mid-stay car park until further notice.

"There is no disruption to wider airport operations."

Chris Smith, who had just landed at the airport from Spain, said it was "shocking" to hear what happened.

"Hopefully the chap is OK and things are all right for him," he said.

"You don't expect to hear that when you return."

Frank Brown was told his vehicle had been relocated to the mid-stay car park upon returning from Barcelona.

He said: "There was no information about what the incident was. They said it was an incident but they didn't go into specifics."

East of England Ambulance Service sent a number of crews to the site.

"An ambulance, an ambulance officer vehicle, a rapid response vehicle, the Hazardous Area Response Team and the Beds and Herts Critical Care Scheme were sent to the scene," a spokesman said.

Bedfordshire Police urged any witnesses to contact the force.

The car park is next to one where 1,400 vehicles were destroyed in a fire in October 2023.

Bedfordshire's fire and police services said the blaze was most likely caused by an electrical fault or a component failure in a moving diesel vehicle.

Construction work is currently taking place on Terminal Car Park Two, with diggers and building equipment working on Sunday.

London Luton Airport handled more than 16.4 million passengers in 2024 and is the capital's fourth-largest airport.

It mainly serves low-cost carriers and flies to European destinations.

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