Fatal bus crash ‘absolute tragedy’
Five Chinese tourists die when vehicle flips on wet road near Rotorua
Atourist bus that crashed killing five Chinese nationals near Rotorua is believed to have veered on to the wrong side of a wet road before it over-corrected and rolled.
A visit to one of New Zealand’s most famous tourist towns took a tragic twist yesterday for 27 Chinese visitors.
Five were killed, two seriously injured and four moderately injured after the bus they were in rolled yesterday on State Highway 5 at Nga¯tira, 20km northwest of the city, on a stretch of bush-clad road between Waiohotu Rd and Galaxy Rd.
Injured survivors wrapped in blankets were seen screaming and crying moments after the deadly crash.
Inspector Brent Crowe last night called the crash “an absolute tragedy”.
He said the tour bus with about 30 seats was travelling south towards Rotorua when it failed to take a bend shortly after 11am.
It veered on to the wrong side of the road, corrected and flipped on to the driver’s side. Crowe believed the driver survived without serious injuries.
“As you can understand this is a very traumatic event for all concerned, it has very far-reaching consequences.”
The Rotorua road policing team had had “a terrible year”, he said.
“We’ve been down this track far too many times.”
An ethnic liaison team, the Red
Cross and Victim Support are helping survivors, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese consulate are helping to identify the dead and notifying next of kin.
“I think that the aroha from the Rotorua community will shine through,” Crowe said.
Witnesses described seeing shattered glass and survivors wrapped in blankets sitting beside the road.
Ten triaged passengers were taken to Rotorua’s ambulance base, including a man limping heavily who was helped into a wheelchair.
Five helicopters flew other victims to Waikato and Tauranga hospitals, and ambulances drove the rest to Rotorua Hospital.
Traffic was backed up for hundreds of metres by midday and drivers were asked to turn back.
Crowe said the serious crash unit was investigating, and the commercial vehicle safety team was likely to be at the scene until the late evening, before the road reopened. A crane was being used to right the bus.
“We’ve got to do this meticulously, carefully and with respect to those who have lost their lives.”
It was “way too early” to know if charges would be laid. A decision on that was “weeks if not months away”.
It was not yet clear if seatbelts were fitted or worn by passengers, or if any victims were children.
“A police investigation into the cause of this crash is under way, [but] we cannot speculate on the contributing factors at this early stage.”
Crowe said the driving conditions were very unfavourable with “high winds, fog and a lot of rain”.
“The road surface was clearly wet and therefore slippery . . . The road itself historically hasn’t caused us too many issues.”
About 6mm of rain had fallen in Rotorua by 11am, according to MetService.
First responders came from Rotorua, Taupo¯, Mamaku and Pu¯ta¯ruru.
Fire and Emergency assistant area commander Hamish Smith said “events like this are traumatic” for personnel, and he was checking on them.
As at Tuesday, 28 people had died on Bay of Plenty roads, compared with 22 up to September 3 last year.
The national road toll on Tuesday night stood at 231, compared with 257 at the same time last year.
The crash comes only months after eight people died in a head-on crash near Rotorua, on SH1 near Ohakuri Rd, Atiamuri, on April 28.
Margaret “Margs” Luke, 35, and David Wiremu Poutawa, 42, were both killed in the crash alongside five of their children — Trinity Luke, 13, Chanley Poutawa, 11, Jahnero Poutawa, 10, Akacia Poutawa, 8, and Khyus Poutawa, 7.
The couple’s 9-year-old boy was the sole survivor.
Scouts manager Jenny Rodgers, who was in the other vehicle, was also killed in the crash, bringing the crash toll to eight.
Earlier that month, five members of a Rotorua family were killed after a car slammed into a gum tree on Tirohanga Rd, south of Kinleith.
Those who died in the April 1 crash were Peter Senior Rangikataua, 44, from Rotorua, his nephew Rangi Rangikataua, 26, from Mokai and Peter’s three daughters Michelle Morgan-Rangikataua, 15, Aroha Morgan-Rangikataua, 14, and Kahukura Morgan-Rangikataua, 12.
Their 11-year-old brother, Isaac Morgan-Rangikataua, survived the crash.