Rotorua bus crash: Tourist describes moment bus rolled
Wednesday, 4 September 2019
A tourist who was on board a bus which crashed outside Rotorua has described the moment it spun out of control then rolled over amid heavy rain.
The crash on Wednesday left five people dead and several more hurt after the bus failed to take what police have described as a 'moderate to easy bend' and went off the road.
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The woman said it was raining and the road was wet and slippery at the time of the accident, around 11am.
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She told reporters from Chinese-language news site SkyKiwi that the driver made a sharp turn of almost 360 degrees, then braked sharply. She watched the bus roll over.
Twenty-seven Chinese nationals were on board the bus. Associated Press reported that Liang Zhi, a diplomat from the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, said they understand the bus was carrying tourists mostly from the Sichuan province.
Three injured passengers were all stable on a ward at Waikato Hospital on Thursday morning.
As an investigation was ongoing, police were unable to comment on whether seatbelts were used on the crashed bus, a spokeswoman said.
Police were in the process of formally identifying the victims and notifying next of kin on Thursday.
Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash - and has not yet spoken with an officer - to make contact, a statement said.
They also wish to speak to anyone who may have seen a white bus travelling south on State Highway 5 before the crash.
A spokesperson for Rotorua's Chinese association told SkyKiwi that Chinese-speaking volunteers were with survivors at the hospital and were in contact with the Chinese Embassy.
He said a family including a mother and son were among those injured.
The driver's condition was described as not serious.
Bay of Plenty road policing district manager Inspector Brent Crowe said on Wednesday that the bus, travelling south, had crossed toward the other side of the road, corrected, then flipped onto the driver's side, 'quite a way off the road'.
Crowe said five people were confirmed dead, two had serious injuries, four moderate injuries and the rest of the passengers were less injured, some able to walk away.
Crowe described the weather at the time of the crash as 'very unfavourable - high winds, fog, and a lot of rain, and the road surface was clearly wet, therefore slippery.'
The first person on the scene, Bishal Jung Basnet, 23, said he could hear people screaming from inside the rolled vehicle.
He said 'people started to leap from the bus, some of them were crying and injured and I managed to carry one lady on my back and bring her out of the accident zone. I saw her blood on her eyebrows.'
The wind was strong and the rain was heavy when Jung Basnet, his brother and uncle went to help the survivors of the accident. They were travelling from Te Puke to visit his lawyer in Hamilton when they arrived at the scene two minutes after the crash.
'Some of them were outside the bus, some of them were inside. They were crying and they were shouting to every car passing them, they were waving and shouting 'help, help',' he added.
State Highway 5 re-opened about 7.30pm on Wednesday night, and an investigation into the cause of the crash was underway. Police said they could not speculate on the contributing factors 'at this early stage'.
Crowe paid tribute to emergency services and the wider Rotorua community who had been rallying to support the victims. 'The aroha from the Rotorua community will shine through and we will assist these people in their recovery.'
Mayor Steve Chadwick told Stuff the Rotorua Lakes council was providing welfare for those who walked away from the crash. 'This is absolutely tragic and as a community we will do whatever we can to assist,' said Chadwick.
Anyone with information for police can call Rotorua police on (07) 349 9560.