School bus crash north of Auckland after brakes fail

The Ahuroa school bus has crashed off the road and into dense bush after the handbrake failed with 14 students on board on Thursday morning, outside of Puhoi. Photo: Nick Reed

Five primary school-aged pupils were injured this morning when the school bus they were in crashed north of Auckland after its handbrake failed.

Ahuroa School was loading a bus to take pupils to the Estuary Arts Centre at Orewa about 9am when the bus's handbrake failed.

The bus carrying 14 pupils rolled down the school's driveway and across the road before stopping in bamboo bushes.

All pupils were able to get off the bus unaided and only five received minor injuries, the school said in a statement to parents.

St John Ambulance attended the incident and checked each pupil. None of the pupils had injuries which required them to be transported to hospital. Police and the Fire Service also attended.

"Please be assured that we will thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident to ensure the ongoing safety of our students," the statement said.

The bus was fully warranted and had undergone a routine check during the school holidays, according to the statement.

The school would contact parents who had a child on the bus.

Any parent concerned about their child, whether they were on the bus or not, was welcome to pick their child up from school.