CANBERRA, Australia: At least 10 people were killed and 25 injured after a chartered bus carrying wedding guests rolled over on a foggy night at a roundabout in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state, police said on Monday.
The accident occurred around 11:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Sunday near the town of Greta about 180 km northwest of Sydney, in the Hunter region famous for its vineyards and wedding spots. “I understand they had been at a wedding together, it’s my understanding they were travelling together … presumably for their accommodation,” NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman said during a televised media briefing.
Police Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman said the 58-year-old driver was arrested and being held at a Cessnock police station and will be charged. According to the reports, she would not detail the allegations, including whether speed was a factor, but told reporters “there is sufficient information … for us to establish that there will be charges.”
The crash happened in foggy conditions at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive in the town of Greta in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales state north of Sydney. The guests had earlier attended a wedding at the Wandin Estate Winery and were heading for their accommodation in the town of Singleton, according to NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman. One guest told Seven News it had been a nice day and a fairytale wedding.
A motorist who drove past the crash scene, identified by Australian Broadcasting Corp. only as Alison, said the fog was so heavy she could not make out the colours of the flashing lights of ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. “The fog was terrible,” she told the ABC. “It was super foggy. You could barely see in front of you.”
The state government said of the 25 people injured, 21 remained in hospitals late Monday morning while one was in critical condition. The condition of the others was described as stable. Another 18 passengers were uninjured.
The two worst bus accidents in the country were head-on collisions within two months of each other in 1989 that killed 35 and 21 people, both in NSW state. Eighteen people died in 1973 when a tourist bus plunged down a slope after a brake failure, according to local media.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed his “deepest sympathies” to the families of the people killed and injured. “All of us know the joy of going to a wedding … they are some of the happiest times that you can have. For a joyous day like that in a beautiful place to end with such terrible loss of life and injury is so cruel and so sad and so unfair,” Albanese told reporters.
