Person dies after car and tourist bus collide near Queenstown

Sunday, 14 October 2018

A person has died after the car they were driving collided with a tourist bus carrying 14 passengers south of Queenstown.

Emergency services were called to the crash involving a Southern Discoveries bus on State Highway 6, near Devils Staircase, about 7.45am on Sunday.

No-one else was injured in the crash. The Serious Crash Unit (SCU) would investigate and the road was closed.

Did you see the crash? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz

The road was closed for the remainder of Sunday morning but had reopened by 1pm.

Southern Discoveries' Queenstown operations manager Bryony Dalby-Ball said the company was working closely with the SCU.

The bus was 49-seat coach that was partially occupied.

'Details of exactly what happened are still coming to light, but we understand that the driver of the car passed away at the scene and our condolences go out to their family and friends,' she said.

'The driver of our bus as well as all 14 passengers on board are uninjured. We are currently taking all of the passengers back to their accommodation in Queenstown and providing them, as well as our staff, with any support they may require.'

* Police previously said the bus was carrying 40 people at the time of the crash. 

READ MORE: Three injured in Otago crash