Possible Thai's Involved In Rta

[MP5]

Crash scene like a war zone as medics searched for life

Two ambulance officers first to arrive at the bloodied carnage of one the worst road accidents in a decade today, said it was like walking into a war zone.

Eight people are dead and a ninth person, an 18-year-old girl, was critically hurt 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

[Pink Mist]

just saw it on the news, pretty horrific

[Explorer]

Just a follow up from other sources -

Eight tourists killed in NZ crash

May 18, 2005 - 4:58PM

A van full of tourists slammed into an oncoming truck in northern New Zealand today, killing eight people including three from one family.

The van, believed to be a a tourist charter vehicle, was ripped in half when it hit the timber-laden truck in the central northern North Island province of Waikato this morning.

The eight were killed almost instantly and a ninth seriously injured.

The dead were a married US couple, a Thai woman, a French man, the New Zealand driver and three members of a family from India, police spokeswoman Kris McGehan said.

The family of four included a man aged 50, a 42-year-old woman and their two daughters aged 18 and 20.

``One of the daughters is in Waikato Hospital in a critical condition. Police are unsure which of the daughters'' was the survivor, McGehan said.

The American man was aged 57, his wife 45, while the Thai woman was 42. No age was given for the French man killed.

``Police are currently making inquiries overseas with various agencies to confirm the identities of the dead and to contact next of kin,'' McGehan said.

The name of the 66-year-old New Zealand driver of the van was not released.

St John Ambulance control officer Nicole Sargo said the crash was one of the worst ambulance officers had worked at in years.

Bodies were strewn around the site following the crash that McGehan described as ``carnage and mayhem.''

``The van came around a slight bend in the road, lost control around the corner and hit the truck,'' she said.

Mike Pudney, an 18-year St John veteran, said the scene was ``pretty horrific for the first ambulance crew who had to move through the scene and assess each patient as they went''.

Heavy rain was thought to have contributed to greasy roads in the area.

New Zealand's last severe road crash was in October 1995 when eight died in a bus converted into a motorhome which plunged off a bridge into a river in the eastern North Island.

AP

[maerim]

The truck driver escaped

A Thai for sure.

[Pink Mist]

It wasn't in northern new zealand it was north waikato which is central NZ, in defence of the truck driver it appears the bus lost control and slammed into the logging truck, the results of this would allways result in disaster.

an unfortunate occurence for sure.

[MP5]

It wasn't in northern new zealand it was north waikato which is central NZ, in defence of the truck driver it appears the bus lost control and slammed into the logging truck, the results of this would allways result in disaster.

an unfortunate occurence for sure.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Waikato is a North Island Province Hamilton being the Capital situated between the west coast and central North Island.

Now here is a twist of fate my wife just walked in and said the lady killed in New Zealand is her sisters friend. The sister is here. Ching Ching

[penzman]

The truck driver escaped

A Thai for sure.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Escaped any injuries.