A child has died after a bus rolled on Ohakune Mountain Rd yesterday as it was transporting skiers down from the Tūroa ski field.
The Ruapehu community is in shock following Saturday's mountain bus crash which left one dead and at least 18 people injured.
The bus, carrying 31 people, rolled on Ohakune Mountain Rd just after 2.30pm on Saturday and later that night police confirmed a young woman had died.
A woman whosurvived the crash, which was carrying people back from the Tūroa ski field, said she heard a honking noise and the driver panicking before the bus slammed into the side of a bank.
Fenella Murphy had spent the morning skiing with girlfriend Aleisha Cope when they decided to take the shuttle back to their car at the bottom of the mountain.
She said the bus had travelled about five minutes from the skifield before its brakes appeared to fail.
"The first sound we heard was this honking noise, like someone tooting the horn for a long time, and were a bit concerned as to what that was," she said.
"Then we heard the driver panicking, and every time he stepped on the brake, there was sort of a gushing of air - we were starting to realise what was happening after that."
The bus involved in Saturday's fatal crash was transporting passengers down from Turoa ski field on Mt Ruapehu.
"Everyone was bracing themselves ... someone shouted, if you have a helmet, put it on." The bus slammed into the side of a bank, flipped and came to rest on its left side.
Murphy walked out a smashed front window with just bruises and began helping the rest of the passengers.
"Everyone was just in a shock ... there was a lot of blood, a lot of head injuries."
Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron said the community was in shock as he thanked emergency services and those who assisted at the crash.
"Our thoughts are with the family of the young girl who died – an immeasurable loss for her family," Cameron said.
"We are a small community, and we are in shock."
Acting Whanganui Police area commander inspector Sue O'Neil said a formal identification process of the woman who died was ongoing.
Emergency services from across the region attended Saturday's crash
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive Ross Copland had spoken to the victim's family.
"They're obviously distraught. It's an absolute tragic loss of life - particularly when it's a young person."
Tūroa ski field was closed yesterday and a blessing was to be held on site.
RAL operates the bus and said it would undertake a detailed debrief to verify the safety of its fleet before reopening Turoa today.
Investigations by the Police serious crash unit, commercial vehicle safety team and CIB were under way. Three helicopters were flown to the crash site on Mt Ruapehu to help transport the wounded.
The accident left a number of skiers stranded on the mountain for several hours after the road was closed in both directions.
Meanwhile, Cameron said Ruapehu District Council road safety engineers would complete a report as part of the crash investigation.
"We will work with the police to ascertain the cause of the accident which occurred in fair weather conditions on section of road that is well maintained."
Last year over 87,000 people used the bus services to access the ski areas in Tongariro National Park and the council said bus transport had operated safely on Mt Ruapehu roads for many years with incidents like this being extremely rare.
Cameron said council had also offered assistance to RAL and supported them in their decision to close Tūroa today.
Meanwhile, on Saturday the Waikato Rescue Helicopter also responded to National Park to airlift a 10-year-old boy who had a badly broken lower leg, after falling while skiing.
