Traffic camera footage of the school bus crash. Video / Lumo Digital
A woman who watched a packed school bus careen into an Auckland motorway overpass then ran to help the schoolgirls onboard says the ordeal was "unbelievable" and left her in tears.
Terrifying footage has since emerged capturing the incident on the Newton Rd overbridge during morning rush hour.
The bus can be seen pulling onto the bridge before continuing to sweep in a circle, crashing through the barrier and left dangling mid-air.
The whole dramatic incident unfolds in just five seconds.
Ketiesha Elliott and two other motorists who had pulled over after watching the crash ran to the bus and shouted at the school girls onboard to stay at the back of the bus.
"[I initially thought] they should use the back emergency window but realised that was too precarious as the bus could have toppled back."
Oncoming traffic was brought to a standstill as the bus was left straddling the busy motorway overbridge on Auckland's Spaghetti Junction.
Within minutes, emergency services rushed to rescue the school students from Ponsonby's St Mary's College who were trapped inside the precariously balanced bus.
Elliott said the students exited the bus using the middle door. Besides being in shock and some crying, the girls Elliott saw said they weren't injured.
"[I] gave a couple of them mumma hugs," she said.
"Suffice to say my planned gym session at 8am just up the road didn't happen. I needed a cry and a sit down after that.
"Unbelievable and so damn lucky those girls didn't plunge over the edge. It was a VERY close call!
St John Ambulance said 24 people were assessed for injuries and one was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A bus carrying school students was left dangling on a motorway overpass this morning in Auckland. Photo / Matthew Lietz
The crash, which happened at 8am, caused extensive traffic delays through Khyber Pass Rd and in Ponsonby.
The high school students on the bus were transferred to a nearby bus after being checked by St John ambulance staff.
Firefighters had to cut apart parts of the bridge fence and needed to hook the bus up to pull it out.
An inflation device was placed under the vehicle to raise it up and then winch it to safety.
Firefighters can be seen moving the bus back on the footpath. Photo / Cheree Kinnear
St Mary's College principal Sarah Dwan praised first responders, who quickly arrived on the scene to help students trapped in the bus.
