A woman who watched a packed school bus careen into an Auckland motorway overpass then ran to help the schoolgirls onboard says the ordeal was "unbelievable" and left her in tears.
Terrifying footage has since emerged capturing the incident on the Newton Rd overbridge during morning rush hour.
The bus can be seen pulling onto the bridge before continuing to sweep in a circle, crashing through the barrier and left dangling mid-air.
The whole dramatic incident unfolds in just five seconds.
Ketiesha Elliott and two other motorists who had pulled over after watching the crash ran to the bus and shouted at the school girls onboard to stay at the back of the bus.
"[I initially thought] they should use the back emergency window but realised that was too precarious as the bus could have toppled back."
Oncoming traffic was brought to a standstill as the bus was left straddling the busy motorway overbridge on Auckland's Spaghetti Junction.
Within minutes, emergency services rushed to rescue the school students from Ponsonby's St Mary's College who were trapped inside the precariously balanced bus.
Elliott said the students exited the bus using the middle door. Besides being in shock and some crying, the girls Elliott saw said they weren't injured.
"[I] gave a couple of them mumma hugs," she said.
"Suffice to say my planned gym session at 8am just up the road didn't happen. I needed a cry and a sit down after that.
"Unbelievable and so damn lucky those girls didn't plunge over the edge. It was a VERY close call!
St John Ambulance said 24 people were assessed for injuries and one was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The crash, which happened at 8am, caused extensive traffic delays through Khyber Pass Rd and in Ponsonby.
The high school students on the bus were transferred to a nearby bus after being checked by St John ambulance staff.
Firefighters had to cut apart parts of the bridge fence and needed to hook the bus up to pull it out.
An inflation device was placed under the vehicle to raise it up and then winch it to safety.
St Mary's College principal Sarah Dwan praised first responders, who quickly arrived on the scene to help students trapped in the bus.
Dwan said it was fortunate that a staff member was in a car behind the coach and was able to offer immediate help.
"All our students are safe and well, and we are incredibly proud of how they have reacted and responded.
"Support is being provided for the students and their families and we will continue to support all involved.
"A staff member happened to be behind the bus on their way to school who was able to stop and provide support to our students."
The Newton Rd overpass remained partially closed this afternoon as teams inspected and worked on repairing the damaged barrier.
Auckland Transport said the vehicle recovery operation had now been completed but motorists were unable to use westbound lanes.
Coachways New Zealand spokesman Dave Marsden said this morning's bus crash was under investigation at the moment.
He didn't have any reports from either the driver or the police so he was unable to answer any questions.
A police spokesperson said inquiries were ongoing and no charges had been laid at this stage.