At least ten people dead in horror bus crash in New South Wales

At least 10 people have died and 11 others are suffering critical injuries after a bus returning from a wedding crashed at a roundabout in a small town in New South Wales.

The coach was travelling from the wedding venue at Lovedale in the Hunter Valley wine region when it rolled at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive near the Hunter Expressway off ramp in Greta, 12km away, at 11.30pm on Sunday. 

Police said that 11 passengers had to be airlifted or taken by ambulance to hospital while 18 others were uninjured in the crash which is one of Australia’s deadliest road accidents in decades.

7News reported that the death toll ‘would likely’ climb to as high as 15.  The most critically injured including those with lost limbs were taken to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, the largest trauma hospital in the region. Others were flown to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney for life-saving surgery. 

The bus driver, a 58-year-old man, was taken to hospital under police guard for assessment.

The scene of the bus crash in Greta, 183km north of Sydney that has killed 10 wedding guests and left 11 others injured. Picture: Nine News 

The 58-year-old bus driver has been taken to hospital under police guard for assessment, NSW Police said

It’s believed that many of the guests had travelled from interstate. One attendee spoke of his disbelief after being told about the tragedy. 

‘It was a nice day, a pretty good wedding… fairytale stuff really… and we went to come back and get drunk, and we got the news that there had been a crash, and we all started panicking,’ an attendee told 7NEWS.

Police at the scene were reportedly trying to understand how a bus could have rolled at the ‘large’ roundabout.  

A crime scene has been established and will be examined by specialist forensic police and the Crash Investigation Unit.

After they were called to the scene, police said a ‘large-scale emergency response commenced involving officers from Hunter Valley Police District, Police Rescue, Traffic and Highway Patrol, NSW Ambulance paramedics, NSW Fire and Rescue, NSW Rural Fire Service, and various helicopters for hospital transports’. 

Wine Country Drive remains closed between New England Highway and Bridge St, along with northbound & southbound off-ramps from Hunter Express to Wine Country Drive.

Motorists have been advised to use an alternative route and allow extra travel time. 

This is a breaking story, more to follow…