Ten persons are feared dead after a wedding bus crashed in an Australia’s Hunter wine region north of Sydney.
The passengers were returning from a wedding at a winery on Sunday night in Hunter Valley, a popular spot for wine tourists, when their coach overturned.
According to the Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman, the death toll may yet rise, with 25 passengers rushed to hospital — two of them airlifted from the crash by helicopter.
The police also disclosed that the 58-year-old driver has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving which resulted in death.
The newly-weds, however, weren’t reported to be on the bus.
Police commissioner Karen Webb said the site of the crash is “still an active crime scene”. “We’ve got forensics officers processing the crime scene, we’ve got crash investigation unit officers, we’ve got rescue officers [on scene],” she added.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it is “so cruel, so sad and so unfair” for a “joyous day in a beautiful place like that to end with such terrible loss of life”.
“People hire a bus for weddings in order to keep their guests safe, and that just adds to the unimaginable nature of this tragedy,” he said at a press conference in Canberra.
Albanese said some of the injured passengers are at John Hunter Hospital, but many have been flown to Sydney.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the loss of so many lives was “nothing short of heartbreaking”, adding: “For this horrific crash to have occurred on a day that should have been filled with love and happiness only adds to the heartbreak.”
