A woman has described the terror at the scene of a bus crash that claimed the lives of two people and injured 44 others south of Gisborne last night.

The bus, carrying a school group from Tonga, went through a barrier and 100m down a bank on State Highway 2, 30km south of Gisborne near Wharerata, about 10.30pm last night.

Kristina Williams lives near the scene, and was alerted to the crash when a man drove to her home.

"He was absolutely distraught when he turned up to our house. He had a couple of the patients in the car with him.

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"We raised the alarm by calling the emergency services and then my brother-in-law and father-in-law and I jumped in our car and went to the scene."

She said it was completely pitch black, apart from the interior bus lights illuminating the wreckage at the bottom of the bank.

"From the edge of the road you could just see the inside of the bus lit up and you couldn't see the people from the top of the road but you knew people were down there.

"There was already a few cars at the scene but everyone was pretty ill-prepared. We managed to bring some head torches with us knowing what the terrain is like and that is densely thick bush."

The scene of the incident. Photo / Facebook

Williams said the injuries were horrible, and she was surprised there was not more fatalities.

"They were all scrambling out in their traditional Tongan attire, the men were wearing skirts [taʻovala] and they all had bare feet and t-shirts on."

Williams was in the process of starting a Givealitte page to raise money for the group - who were here fundraising for their church.

"Their belongings were all strewn down the bank and they were just the loveliest group of people. They were all so thankful for everyone's help, it was just a shame we couldn't do more.

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"Some couldn't speak English but they were all comforting each other and were very quiet and calm and thankful."

Williams said she was told that the bus had taken a wrong turn on the road into Gisborne from Hamilton, and ended coming up from the south instead of the Northwest.

The man who raised the alarm at her house was sent by the church to meet the bus in his car and lead them the correct way into town, she said.

It is understood one of the deceased people was a woman accompanying the brass band team from Mailefihi Siulikutapu College on Vavau Island.

The body of the second person was recovered this morning.

A St John spokeswoman said there was 41 patients treated in total, and 27 were transported to hospitals.

One person was critically injured, two people were seriously injured and three people were moderately injured, she said.

The rest of the patients had minor injuries, she said.

Some of the patients were airlifted to hospitals in Gisborne and Hastings and rest were transported to Gisborne by ambulance and a second bus that came to assist.

A statement from Gisborne Hospital said that 27 people were taken there.

"Eight people have been admitted to Gisborne Hospital and a further two were airlifted direct to [Hawke's Bay] Hospital."

Police officers are in the process of identifying next of kin.

They were on their way to Gisborne for a fundraising event and were being hosted in the homes of ex-students and other members of the Tongan community in Gisborne, said the statement.

They were due to perform at Christmas church services, it is understood.

Photos have been posted to a public Facebook page showing the school group at the scene of the crash and in Hawke's Bay Hospital.

Many people are sending their condolences and prayers to the group.

Michelle Lama said: "Our prayers and thoughts are with you all."

Evelini Ahosivi said: "Love to all those kids."

Aleki Tuipulotu said: "May God be with you all and may his healing hand be upon all of yous [sic]."

Members from the group not requiring hospitalisation or further medical treatment are now being accommodated by the local Tongan community, Methodist Church, and Victim Support who are caring for and comforting these people.

A police spokeswoman said: "Serious Crash Unit have attended and report that the extraction of the bus is likely to be challenging and may take a number of days to complete due to the terrain and availability of the necessary heavy equipment during the Christmas period."

The road is currently open to traffic.</s>WELLINGTON: Two people have died after a bus carrying a student band from Tonga crashed 100 metres down a bank while they were heading to a Christmas Day service in New Zealand, police said on Sunday (Dec 25).

More than 40 people were injured when the bus ploughed through a barrier and rolled down a steep bank late on Christmas Eve about 30 kilometres from the resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island.

The body of one person was found soon after the crash and the second body was recovered in a later search of the wreckage.

Facebook posts identified the passengers as a brass band comprising students and teachers from Mailefihi Siulikutapu College on Vavau Island in Tonga.

Police initially said 46 people were on board, but after the discovery of the second body they said the numbers were yet to be confirmed and they were working with the survivors to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Ambulance staff said 41 people required treatment and 27 were taken to hospital.

"The passengers are believed to be mainly Tongan school students, who are visiting New Zealand to fundraise for their school in Tonga," the police said in a statement.

"The group were travelling to Gisborne where they were due to perform as a band on Christmas Day."

Local media reports said the group were to have performed at Christmas church services and passengers not requiring hospital treatment were being cared for by the local Tongan community and Methodist Church.</s>More than 40 people were injured when the bus ploughed through a barrier and rolled down a steep bank late on Christmas Eve about 30 kilometres from the resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island. More than 40 people were injured when the bus ploughed through a barrier and rolled down a steep bank late on Christmas Eve about 30km from the resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, New Zealand.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com.</s>Wellington: One person was killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying 46 people rolled down a bank in New Zealand on Saturday, police said.

The bus was 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the popular holiday resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, when it crashed through a barrier and down a bank at about 10.30 pm (0930 GMT) on Christmas Eve.

Police said one person was confirmed dead, several were airlifted to hospitals with various injuries and 36 were taken by ambulance to Gisborne for further assessment.

They said it would be several hours before they would be able to release details on whether any of the passengers were foreign tourists.

One dead, several injured in Xmas eve New Zealand bus crash was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on December 24, 2016 and was last updated on December 24, 2016. This news story is related to Latest/174185-One-dead-several-injured-in-Xmas-eve-New-Zealand-bus-crash/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "One dead, several injured in Xmas eve New Zealand bus crash" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/174185-One-dead-several-injured-in-Xmas-eve-New-Zealand-bus-crash.</s>One person was killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying 46 people rolled down a bank in New Zealand on Saturday, police said.

The bus was 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the popular holiday resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, when it crashed through a barrier and down a bank at about 10.30 pm (0930 GMT) on Christmas Eve.

Police said one person was confirmed dead, several were airlifted to hospitals with various injuries and 36 were taken by ambulance to Gisborne for further assessment.

They said it would be several hours before they would be able to release details on whether any of the passengers were foreign tourists.

The news came as an interstate bus in Malaysia carrying passengers from Singapore and Myanmar careered off a highway early Saturday, killing 14 people and injuring 16 others.</s>Wellington – One person was killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying 46 people rolled down a bank in New Zealand on Saturday, police said.

The bus was 30km from the popular holiday resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, when it crashed through a barrier and down a bank at about 22:30 (09:30 GMT) on Christmas Eve.

Police said one person was confirmed dead, several were airlifted to hospitals with various injuries and 36 were taken by ambulance to Gisborne for further assessment.

They said it would be several hours before they would be able to release details on whether any of the passengers were foreign tourists.</s>Tonga Airports Ltd. has declared a $2 million pa'anga Annual Dividend for 2015-16, payable to its shareholder the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga. "This is the highest dividend amount paid from Tonga Airports Ltd. to the Government of Tonga.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Matangi Tonga.</s>One dead, several injured in Christmas eve New Zealand bus crash

The bus was 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the popular holiday resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, when it crashed through a barrier and down a bank at about 10.30pm (1730 in Malaysia). — Reuters picWELLINGTON, Dec 24 — One person was killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying 46 people rolled down a bank in New Zealand today, police said.

The bus was 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the popular holiday resort town of Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island, when it crashed through a barrier and down a bank at about 10.30pm (1730 in Malaysia) on Christmas Eve.

Police said one person was confirmed dead, several were airlifted to hospitals with various injuries and 36 were taken by ambulance to Gisborne for further assessment.

They said it would be several hours before they would be able to release details on whether any of the passengers were foreign tourists. — AFP</s>A second body has been found at the scene of a bus crash near Gisborne, which was carrying teachers and students from a Tongan school set to perform at a Christmas church service.

The bus carrying over 45 passengers crashed down a bank at 9.30pm yesterday on the road between Wairoa and Gisborne, police confirmed.

Two people were killed and a number of passengers were both flown and driven to Gisborne and Hastings Hospitals in conditions varying from critical to stable.

Most of those on board the bus crash were from a school in Vava'u, Tonga, and were due to perform at a Christmas church service in Gisborne.

The group had been in New Zealand for a couple of weeks already and had spent some time in Auckland, a spokesperson from Tongan Advisory Council told 1 NEWS.

It is yet to be confirmed how many people were on the bus when it crashed.

The bus driver is working with police, while the Serious Crash Unit is working to establish the circumstances of the crash.

Police said the extraction of the bus will be challenging as it's 100m down a steep bank, and it likely to take a number of days to complete.</s>A man and his son missing at sea off Tonga since Saturday have been found safe, bringing to a successful conclusion the NZ Defence Force's third search and rescue operation in nine days. The duo failed to return from a day-long fishing trip off Tonga's Eua Island on December 10, but NZ Defence Force searchers spotted them today waving their T-shirts from Hunga Tonga island, about 58 kilometres northwest of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald.
A passenger bus carrying 46 people, mostly school groups from Tonga, crashes in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand, approximately 30 kilometers south of the city of Gisborne. Two people died while several were injured, with some still hospitalized.