Crash scene like a war zone as medics searched for life

A police officer beside the disintegrated remains of the van. Picture / Amos Chapple

Tourists from four countries were involved in the fatal road smash that killed eight people and left one girl critically ill in the Waikato today.

Police say an 18-year-old Indian girl is the only survivor, of the crash. Her mother, 42, father, 50, and sister, 20, were all killed along with a 42-year-old Thai woman, a husband and wife aged 57 and 45 from America, a French man and the 66-year-old Auckland driver.

The crash happened after a south-bound private charter van ploughed into a logging truck on a corner of State Highway 27, near Morrinsville at around 9am.

The impact ripped the van apart, scattering debris over 150m.

Mike Pudney, an 18-year veteran St John and area manager for North Waikato, said the scene that greeted his two ambulance officers was "pretty horrific" and one later described it as a war zone.

"It was pretty horrific for the first ambulance crew who had to move through the scene and assess each patient as they went," he said.

All eight dead were in the van. One of them is described as a "young person" and at least some of them are believed to be from Thailand.

The truck driver escaped and is being treated for shock.

Heavy rain was thought to have contributed to the greasy road surfaces, police said. A local resident said she heard a "massive" noise about 9am.

It is the worst accident in New Zealand since 1995 when eight people died after their house bus went off the Mohaka Bridge in Hawke's Bay.

The van was a private charter tourist van from Auckland. The truck was going north and the van containing nine people was heading south.

Police spokeswoman Kris McGehan said: "The van came around a slight bend in the road, lost control around the corner and hit the truck.

"The truck was carrying a load of timber and the load is sitting on the side of the road and across the road."

Several hours after the accident the bodies remained at the scene which Ms McGehan described as "carnage and mayhem."

The van virtually disintegrated in the crash, leaving bodies lying all over the road with a range of injuries.

The dead also range in age and were both male and female.

Ms McGehan added: "The van is in pieces. There is debris strewn for a large distance along the road. It is top of the range if I can use that term. They don't come much more serious than this."

She said it appeared the truck driver had done nothing wrong. He was deeply traumatised and had been taken away for treatment.

Ms Sargo said two road ambulances, a car and the Westpac rescue helicopter from Hamilton were sent to the area.

The Otorohanga-based trucking company that owned the truck said in a statement today its sympathies were with the families of the victims.

Freight Lines Ltd managing director Peter Barker said the company wanted to express its "extreme sadness" about the accident.

"It is a very tragic accident and we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those involved.

"Our driver is extremely upset and we are focusing on supporting him as he helps police gain a clear picture of what happened."

"There is no indication that our driver was at fault but to be involved in such a tragic event is devastating. We are doing everything we can to help both him and the police," Mr Barker said in his statement.