School bus and car collide: One dead, 31 injured, two critical

Tragedy struck in Rotorua as a fatal crash between a school bus and a car left one person dead and two critically injured. The deceased was a passenger in the car, while the driver and another individual were in critical condition, requiring rescue gear to be extracted from the vehicle.

Emergency services responded swiftly, with one critically injured person airlifted to Waikato Hospital and the other taken to Rotorua Hospital. The school bus involved was transporting students from Gisborne, who were in town for a kapa haka competition in Tauranga.

Despite the harrowing ordeal, the students and staff from Kaiti School in Gisborne emerged safely. Three students were briefly hospitalized but have since been discharged. The crash occurred on Te Ngae Road in Ōwhata, prompting a significant emergency response.

Local residents were shaken by the severity of the accident, with one witness describing it as “nasty.” Authorities confirmed that there were no ongoing roadworks or traffic management at the time of the incident, but investigations into the crash are ongoing.

The community mourns the loss of life and prays for the swift recovery of the injured. As the wreckage is cleared, the road safety issue on Te Ngae Road remains a concern, with past fatal accidents prompting calls for further scrutiny and preventative measures.