A child has died after a bus rolled on Ohakune Mountain Rd yesterday as it was transporting skiers down from the Tūroa ski field.
A woman who survived a fatal bus crash near Tūroa ski field has described the terrifying moments before impact, as one passenger warned others to put helmets on.
The bus, carrying 31 people, rolled on Ohakune Mountain Rd just after 2.30pm yesterday, leaving a young woman dead and at least 18 people injured.
Fenella Murphy had spent the morning skiing with girlfriend Aleisha Cope when they decided to take the shuttle back to their car at the bottom of the mountain.
She said the bus had travelled about five minutes from the skifield before its brakes appeared to fail.
"The first sound we heard was this honking noise, like someone tooting the horn for a long time, and were a bit concerned as to what that was," she said.
"Then we heard the driver panicking, and every time he stepped on the brake, there was sort of a gushing of air - we were starting to realise what was happening after that."
Passengers began preparing for impact.
"Everyone was bracing themselves ... someone shouted, if you have a helmet, put it on."
Less than a minute after the apparent mechanical problems began, the bus slammed into the side of a bank, flipped and came to rest on its left side.
Murphy was one of the first out of the wreck, walking out the smashed front window.
She began helping the rest of the passengers.
"Everyone was just in a shock ... there was a lot of blood, a lot of head injuries."
Murphy, who spent the night in Whanganui Hospital was thankful to have escaped with bruises, while Cope suffered a back injury that wasn't serious.
She said her heart went out to the young woman who didn't make it.
Acting Whanganui Police area commander inspector Sue O'Neil said a formal identification process was ongoing, but confirmed a young woman died as a result of the crash.
"Once the formal identification process has been carried out and next of kin notified police will be in a position to release more details."
O'Neil said, given there were a number of people injured in the accident, it would take some time to establish exactly what happened.
The injured passengers were taken to Rotorua, Taupo, Waikato, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Wellington hospitals following the crash.
A child has died after a bus rolled on Ohakune Mountain Rd yesterday as it was transporting skiers down from the Turoa ski field.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive Ross Copland told Newstalk ZB he had spoken to the victim's family and he and the chairman hoped to meet the family this afternoon.
"They're obviously distraught. It's an absolute tragic loss of life - particularly when it's a young person."
Tūroa ski field is closed for the day and a blessing is to be held on site.
Other tour operators have also chosen not to operate today as a sign of respect.
My Kiwi Adventure posted on Facebook that it was a sad day for the Ruapehu region.
A very sad day for the Ruapehu region. Our prayers and thoughts are with the affected families of the Mt Ruapehu bus...
"Our prayers and thoughts are with the affected families of the Mt Ruapehu bus accident. While we are an independent, local transport operator, we have chosen not to operate today as a sign of respect."
The bus carrying 31 passengers rolled halfway down Ohakune Mountain Rd, which runs to Tūroa ski field, just after 2.30pm on Saturday.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts said the bus was carrying passengers down from the Tūroa ski area when the incident happened.
One motorist said there were two cars behind the bus when it crashed.
"People were being treated on the side of the road ... One woman had clearly hurt her mouth and numerous people had blood coming from their heads."
Another bus operator, who did not want to be named, said one of his drivers was following the bus and saw the bus hit a bank and roll onto the road.
Investigations by the Police serious crash unit, commercial vehicle safety team and CIB were under way. The bus has been taken to Whanganui to be examined as part of the ongoing investigations.
A Waikato District Health Board spokeswoman confirmed two women aged 29 and 31, and a 20-year-old man were this morning stable in a ward. The 31-year-old woman had been in a critical condition when she arrived yesterday afternoon.
A St John spokesperson said yesterday at least 15 other people had moderate injuries, including head injuries that had knocked them out, and were treated at a triage centre set up in Ohakune.
Three helicopters were flown to the crash site on Mt Ruapehu to help transport the wounded.
The accident left a number of skiers stranded on the mountain for several hours after the road was closed in both directions.
