Child among bus dead as Chinese Ambassador lays flowers at fatal tour crash site

Thursday, 5 September 2019

Five people died after a tour bus left the road and rolled near Rotorua.

A young child was among those killed when a tour bus crashed near Rotorua.

Police confirmed on Thursday that those who died were four adults and a child but were unable to release the identity of those killed.

Chinese Ambassador lays down flowers at the fatal bus crash which claimed five people in September, 2019 (FILE VIDEO).

An investigation into the cause of the crash continues but police said it was too soon to comment on how the crash occurred.

Earlier in the day Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi paid a sombre visit to the site of Wednesday's fatal bus crash, laying flowers and bowing at the spot where the five Chinese tourists lost their lives.

Xi visited the site just after 11am on Thursday - almost exactly 24 hours after the crash.

Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi lays flowers at the site where five Chinese nationals lost their lives.

In a stark contrast to the wet and overcast weather on the day of the crash, Xi arrived to dry weather and sunshine, pulling up at the site in a people carrier behind an unmarked police escort car.

As she emerged from her vehicle, Xi looked visibly upset and, speaking from behind dark glasses, described how she had been left 'traumatised and saddened' by what she described as a tragic incident.

Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi, centre, and others visited the fatal tour bus crash which claimed five lives on Wednesday.

At a press conference at Rotorua Police Station on Wednesday, Bay of Plenty road policing district manager Inspector Brent Crowe said the bus crossed to the other side of the road, corrected, then flipped onto the driver's side, 'quite a way off the road'.

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Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi and Ambassadorial staff approach the crash site.

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*Rotorua bus crash: Tourist describes moment bus rolled

The section of State Highway 5 where the tourist bus lost control.

*Five tourists killed in bus rollover crash near Rotorua**

The crash left five people dead, two with serious injuries and four with moderate injuries. Some walked away unscathed.

Less seriously injured survivors were led away from the scene of a bus crash near Mamaku, Rotorua.

The bus contained 27 Chinese nationals.

Xi told Stuff all relatives of the deceased had been notified and that the Government had promised to expedite the visa process for any relatives wishing to come to New Zealand.

'We are going to do our utmost to help them.'

Xi said she had travelled from Waikato Hospital where she had met with some of the victims.

The three tourists there were 'seriously injured … but they are well taken care of' and described the relatives of the deceased as 'very traumatised'.

'We will help them in our own way get through this very difficult time,' she said.

'We wish them all the best and share their miseries and sorrow.'

Xi also paid tribute to the care crash victims had been receiving in New Zealand.

With members of her entourage and an accompanying police officer, Xi then walked along a gravel slip road towards the crash scene. One of the party was carrying a bright bouquet.

One of the group asked the officer where to place the flowers before Xi bent down to place them on the ground.

She then stood in a line between two others and bowed in unison three times.

The short walk back to their vehicle took them past a well-used fly tipping site, with mattresses, household rubbish and an animal carcass strewn alongside the scrub.

Among the mess sat a decaying sofa, spray painted with a swastika and a racial slur.