Both Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopters were tasked to transport patients to Auckland City Hospital. Westpac 2 helicopter transported a female patient in her teens in a serious condition. Westpac Helicopter 3 transported a male patient in his 40s in a serious condition.
Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
Both Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopters were tasked to transport patients to Auckland City Hospital. Westpac 2 helicopter transported a female patient in her teens in a serious condition. Westpac Helicopter 3 transported a male patient in his 40s in a serious condition.
Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
One person is dead after a serious crash involving a tour bus that has closed State Highway 1 near Tīrau.
Emergency services responded to the crash near the intersection with Paparamu Rd just after 2pm.
Senior Sergeant Taupō Area road policing manager Fane Troy told a Herald reporter on thescene the crash “involved three vehicles, one of those being a tour bus”.
Troy said police believed the bus passengers were overseas tourists.
“It’s early on in the investigation so we cannot say what caused the crash,” he said.
Photos from the scene of the crash show a bus on the side of the road, along with a severely damaged car. Further along the road is an SUV with damage to its front.
Hato Hone St John said 13 patients have been transported for treatment, with two of them critical and four serious. Several rescue helicopters have been scrambled to the scene.
One person is dead after a serious two-vehicle crash that has closed State Highway 1 near Tīrau. Photo / Supplied
One person commented on Facebook, “Oh no! I heard all the sirens and thought it may have been an accident”.
Another said, “Bus versus car. It’s not good.”
Another local resident posted: “I just seen three appliances leave Putaruru and three cops and ambo race through from Tokoroa ... It must be catastrophic.”
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said seven ambulances, five helicopters and three rapid response units have been sent to the scene.
Patients were taken to Waikato, Rotorua, Tauranga and Auckland Hospitals by road and air.
“This section of SH1 is likely to remain closed for some time today as NZ Police undertake a serious crash investigation. Delay your journey or allow extra time for a detour via SH27 and SH29.”
