Horror crash survivor yet to be told her family is dead

The teenager who survived one of the country's worst road smashes has yet to be told the rest of her family is dead as she lies critically ill in Waikato Hospital.

The 20-year-old Indian woman was airlifted to hospital by the Westpac rescue helicopter after the horror smash on State Highway 27 near Morrinsville in Waikato yesterday left eight others dead, including her mother, 42, father, 50, and sister, 18.

She was unconscious and on life support today but was expected to survive.

The other victims included the 66-year-old New Zealand driver of the mini-bus, an American couple aged 57 and 45, a Frenchman, and a Thai woman, 42, named overseas as Naphat Juiyim.

Police named the victims today. They included an American couple, Gregory James Megas, 57, and his wife Donna Lee Megas, 45, both of Florida.

An Indian couple and one of their daughters died, their second daughter was critically hurt. The dead are Vellore Thirumuthy, 50, his wife Suchitra Thirumuthy, 42 and their daughter Urmila Thirumuthy, 18.

The other daughter Ahalya Thirumuthy, 20, remains critically ill in Waikato Hospital with head and internal injuries.

The mini-bus was heading to Rotorua after picking up the tourists from the hotels in Auckland early yesterday morning.

A police team returned to the accident scene today to try and find out what made the mini-bus veer across the road and into the path of a fully laden Freight Lines truck heading north.

Police said the road was slippery but the slight corner where the accident happened should have been able to handle the mini-bus if it was travelling at 95km/h, the speed which the dead driver's employer, Greenworld Tours, said he apparently never exceeded.

The truck driver was unhurt but was deeply traumatised and was being spoken to by victim support counsellors.

- NZPA