A bus carrying wedding guests overturned and killed 10 people in an “unimaginable” nighttime crash as it traveled through a wine-growing area north of Sydney, police said yesterday, announcing a string of charges against the driver.
The white Linq Buslines coach was ferrying 35 passengers from a wedding at a local winery when it flipped onto its left side late on Sunday, coming to rest on the pavement alongside roadside barriers at the entrance to a major roundabout.
It was Australia’s deadliest road accident in 16 years.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Police said they had charged a 58-year-old man with 10 offenses relating to dangerous or negligent driving “occasioning death,” and denied him bail ahead of a court hearing at nearby Cessnock today.
A dozen emergency workers wearing high visibility yellow vests were at the scene soon after the accident on a foggy night near the town of Greta, helping to ferry more than 20 people to hospital.
Among those still in hospital, one patient was in “critical” condition and 20 others were “stable,” police said.
After a day-long effort, bodies were still being recovered from the scene.
Wedding photos shared on social media showed smiling guests from the party gathered on the lawn of a local winery in celebration, just hours before the accident — the deadliest in official records since 2007.
Acting New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman described a “frantic scene” in the aftermath of the crash.
Emergency responders “were able to smash the front windscreen of the bus in order to pull some people, or assist some people, out of the bus”, she said. “Those that were able to, walked themselves.”
No children were believed to be involved, she added.
The passengers were presumably heading to their accommodation after the festivities, Chapman said.
No other vehicles appeared to have been involved in the crash, she said.
Police declined to discuss the possible cause of the crash.
“For a joyous day like that in a beautiful place to end with such terrible loss of life and injury is so cruel and sad, and so unfair,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in Canberra. “People hire a bus for weddings in order to keep their guests safe, and that just adds to the unimaginable nature of this tragedy.”
Albanese sent his wishes for the recovery of those in hospital and thanks to the emergency workers.
“I want to give our thanks to the first responders, those who arrived at this terrible scene. I cannot imagine what they were confronted with, what they had to deal with,” he said.
The area is being examined by specialist forensic police and a crash investigation unit.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS