Tour bus crashes off road and rolls on Te Anau highway, injuring 19

Thursday, 31 May 2018

An 18-seater bus crashed on black ice on State Highway 94 on the western side of Gorge Hill, about 30km east of Te Anau.

A tourist bus ploughed into a farmer's fence before rolling on its side on a Southland highway, leaving 19 people injured.

There were reports the 18-seat bus had rolled onto its side at the bottom of Gorge Hill on the Te Anau side of the Te Anau-Mossburn highway about 8am, police said.

An 18-seater bus crashed on black ice on State Highway 94 on the western side of Gorge Hill, about 30km east of Te Anau. An Otago Rescue Helicopter arrives as a passing bus stops to pick up some uninjured passengers.

St John spokesman Gerard Campbell said there were 19 injured. Fifteen people required treatment. .

Some of the passengers with minor injuries were being taken to Te Anau medical centre.

One passenger in a serious condition, and one in a moderate condition were taken to Dunedin Hospital.

Three helicopters transported four patients from the crash scene to Dunedin Hospital.

The first helicopter took one patient in a serious condition and one patient in a moderate condition.

Two passengers were airlifted to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter - one in a serious condition, one in a moderate condition.

A second helicopter took another patient in a serious condition and a third helicopter took a patient in a moderate condition.

A fourth helicopter crew had since been dispatched to pick up two patients in a moderate condition from the Fiordland Medical Centre in Te Anau, one with chest injuries another with abdominal injuries.

A rescue helicopter lands at Dunedin Hospital after a tour bus crashed off the road in Te Anau, injuring passengers.

Those involved were believed to be foreign nationals.

It's understood the rest of the passengers suffered minor injuries.

The bus was completely off the road and there was the possibility more people were injured, the spokesman said.

Firefighters from Mossburn and Te Anau responded to the crash after they were alerted by St John.

A fire communications spokesman said no-one was trapped on the bus but emergency services were working to get three people out of the bus due to the nature of their injuries and the fact the bus was on its side.

Three helicopter crews had been sent to the scene of the crash.

A local farmer who lives near the crash site said it looked like the bus had been coming from the Te Anau direction, and done a 180 before running into his fence.

He said the road was very icy and there had been fog this morning, which was starting to clear. Conditions were 'about as bad as it gets'.

'It's just people in a hurry basically, they need to slow down.'

He said the road was closed and at least 30 cars were lined up waiting.

New Zealand Transport Agency national media manager Andy Knackstedt said there had been a warning in place for roads in the area on Thursday morning.

'There was freezing fog in that area, so the roads were affected by, in various places, black ice.'

Contractors had spread grit on the road at 5am and several days ago put down CMA, a chemical anti-icing agent.

The road conditions on Thursday were not unusual for this time of year, he said.

Police said the westbound lane of the highway is currently open, with stop-go traffic management is in place.

The road was re-opened shortly after 2pm.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Team is at the scene as well as the Serious Crash Unit.