New South Wales premier Christopher John Minns (R) listens as Police acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman speaks near the site of the bus crash. Photo: SAEED KHAN / AFP
By Paulina Vidal
A bus driver has been charged over the crash that killed 10 people and left more than 20 injured in Australia's Hunter region on Sunday night.
The bus was travelling from a wedding at Wandin Estate at Lovedale to the town of Singleton just after 11.30pm on Sunday (1.30am Monday NZST), when it rolled at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive as it was entering the Hunter Expressway in Greta.
NSW Police said there were 36 people on the bus, including the driver, but it could seat up to 54. The bride and groom were not on the bus.
According to NSW Police acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman, the wedding guests came from across the country.
"It's my understanding that at the wedding and on the bus there were people from a number of areas, both local from within the Singleton LGA and some from Sydney and perhaps Queensland and Victoria," she said.
The newlywed couple played Aussie rules for the Singleton Roosters Australian Rules football club, and it is understood some of those in attendance were members of the club.
Following the incident, patients were taken to a number of hospitals across the Hunter region and in Sydney.
A frame grab taken from video footage provided by the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) on 12 June shows the site of the fatal bus crash in Australia's Hunter wine region north of Sydney. Photo: AFP PHOTO / ABC
A number of the injured people have since been sent home, while others remain in hospital.
"As of 10am Monday 12 June, one patient is in a critical condition and eight patients are in a stable condition at John Hunter Hospital," NSW Health said in a statement.
"Five patients are in a stable condition at Maitland Hospital. Five patients are in a stable condition at Calvary Mater, Newcastle. Two patients are in a stable condition at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital."
The 58-year-old bus driver from Maitland was taken to hospital under police guard for mandatory testing and assessment.
He has been charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death - drive manner dangerous, and negligent driving (occasioning death).
Floral tributes have been laid at the site, which remains an active crime scene, with crash investigation officers and forensic personnel still working there.
One area of scrutiny will be whether the bus was fitted with seatbelts, if they were working and if passengers were wearing them.
Earlier on Monday the bus, which had been left intact and on its side since the incident, was moved.
Footage from the scene showed straps had been attached to the vehicle and a number of trucks were pulling it upright.
Rescue officers have begun the "difficult task" of removing bodies from inside the vehicle.
Floral tributes left near the site of the bus crash. Photo: SAEED KHAN / AFP
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said it was a tragic and delicate operation.
"We have highway patrol and other officers assisting, so it's a very complex scene and an awful situation," she said.
"The most complex part of this job for police now is accounting for the victims and the passengers on the bus."
Complicating the task, she said, was the fact people had been "transported to different locations and then rediverted".
"Police have the arduous task of matching individuals from the bus to property located in the bus," she said.
"So you an imagine ... that's going to be a complex task."
She acknowledged that family members might feel frustrated by the process and think it was taking too long.
"I'm sure families want to get this right so we need to take our time, and have families contact Cessnock if they have concerns."
Commissioner Webb also stressed the coronial inquiry would be a lengthy process, requiring "scientific examination".
And she warned the cause of the accident might not be known "for some time".
Acting Assistant Commissioner Chapman said first responders were faced with a frantic situation in the dark.
But the large-scale emergency response from NSW Police, NSW Ambulance and Fire and Rescue meant people were given assistance quickly.
"Emergency responders were able to smash the front windscreen of the bus to pull or assist some people out of the bus, those that were able to walk themselves," she said.
"Without question a very difficult circumstances for any of the responders."
The driver was refused bail and is due to appear at Cessnock Local Court today.
- ABC