Eight people were injured when a bus carrying students and teachers from three Wanganui high schools crashed into a ditch yesterday afternoon.
The bus was carrying about 45 people when it went into the ditch on State Highway 4, 9km from Taumarunui about 12.30pm.
The Wanganui schools were going tothe Nga Manu Korero national secondary school speech contest in Hamilton.
It was unclear last night which schools were involved.
One student was airlifted to Waikato Hospital with moderate injuries, while five students and two teachers suffered minor injuries and were taken for treatment to Taumarunui Hospital.
A police spokeswoman said the families of the students and teachers involved in the crash were told yesterday afternoon. The investigation was ongoing, and involved both the Serious Crash Unit and the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit.