A crash in upstate New York involving a tourist bus on its way back from a trip to Niagara Falls has caused multiple fatalities, with passengers still trapped in the wreckage, according to law enforcement.
At least one child was among the dead, officials said.
The tour bus had about 50 passengers onboard, heading to New York City from the famous landmark on the US-Canada border, when it crashed between Buffalo and Rochester on the I-90 close to the Pembroke exit on the interstate.
A tractor trailer was also involved and the number of victims has yet to be confirmed.
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Photos from witnesses showed the bus tipped on its side near the road, with emergency crews and medical helicopters bringing victims to hospitals.
“There was glass all over the road and people’s stuff all over the road,” Powell Stephens of Medina told the Buffalo News after passing the scene. “Windows were all shattered.”
New York state trooper James O’Callaghan on Friday said the tourists were chiefly of Indian, Chinese and Filipino origin, and officials were trying to get interpreters to the scene.
The driver, who survived the crash, lost control while the bus was at full speed, causing it to flip when he tried to correct course, he said. No other vehicles were involved. The driver is cooperating with investigators, and the police were in contact with the bus company, which was not immediately identified.
Mr O’Callaghan told reporters at the scene the bus rolled over after it crashed.
“There were multiple ejections,” he said. “There were multiple people trapped and there’s multiple fatalities, and this includes children as well.”
He added that most people on the bus did not have a seatbelt on.
The road was blocked, and Mr O’Callaghan said there were multiple entrapments and people were being taken to local hospitals.
Mercy Flight, the regional air ambulance service, confirmed that three of its helicopters transported crash victims to hospitals.
Erie county medical centre (ECMC) reported having at least eight patients by 2.10pm local time, though the total number of injuries was not immediately released.
Additional helicopters and ambulances from surrounding areas were called in, according to Margaret Ferrentino, the Mercy Flight president. - Guardian
