On Thursday, July 18, two buses carrying Chinese tourists were involved in a crash at the same location in the South Island of New Zealand. Fifteen passengers were taken to the hospital, with two of them sustaining serious injuries.
According to a statement from the New Zealand police in an email, the two buses were traveling in the same direction on State Highway 8 when both vehicles skidded off the road almost simultaneously, resulting in a rollover accident with the buses coming to rest just 100 meters apart. At the time, the area experienced extremely low temperatures, with reports from other vehicles mentioning thick fog and black ice on the road.
Officials in New Zealand mentioned that the cause of the accident is still unclear. While a spokesperson did not confirm the nationality of the passengers on board, the Chinese Consulate General in Christchurch informed the Associated Press via email that the bus was carrying Chinese tourists.
Local emergency services stated that 15 individuals were sent to the hospital, with two of them being airlifted directly due to severe injuries. Among those hospitalized, eight were moderately injured, and five sustained minor injuries.
Officials did not disclose how many people were still receiving treatment at the scene, nor did they provide information on the total number of passengers on the buses.
No other vehicles were involved in the traffic accident. Several hours later, the section of the road remained closed as there were no alternative routes available.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing many children on the bus. Images from the scene depicted the bus overturned in a field with scattered belongings around.
According to the Associated Press, Australian tourist Grace Duggin’s car happened to be behind one of the buses that overturned. She witnessed the bus veering off the road, rolling multiple times before coming to rest in the field.
Duggin mentioned that the road conditions were very poor prior to the accident, with ice and slippery conditions, as the winter in the South Island often results in roads being covered in black ice—a thin layer of ice difficult to detect on the road surface.
She recounted seeing a man pulling out a passenger covered in blood from the roof hatch of the bus.
“Most of them were children, some with severe head injuries,” she said. “The side windows and windshields were shattered, indicating many glass injuries on the children.”
She noted that another bus seemed to have also veered off the road around the same time, with both buses being on the same side of the road and not far apart.
She mentioned that both buses appeared identical without any visible signs or company names.
The New Zealand Transport Agency had issued warnings previously about the road conditions on State Highway 8. The section of the road where the accident occurred, between the towns of Tekapo and Twizel, had witnessed another accident a few days prior due to snow and ice.
Similar to many tourist highways in the South Island, State Highway 8 traverses through pristine mountain ranges and lakeside landscapes, attracting visitors to New Zealand.
As New Zealand is currently in winter in the Southern Hemisphere, driving can be particularly hazardous, especially for travelers unfamiliar with winding, slippery roads. Incidents involving tourists and locals have occurred on the same stretch of road in the past.