A number of fatalities and accidents, together with youngsters, have been reported Friday after a tour bus with about 50 passengers headed again to New York Metropolis from Niagara Falls crashed right into a ditch, state police stated.
The bus rolled over after dropping management, New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan stated at a information convention. He stated authorities have a “good thought” of why the crash befell however didn’t supply additional particulars presently.
“We imagine there’s a youngster that may be a fatality,” he stated.
First responders have been making an attempt to rescue and help passengers as a number of have been entrapped and others have been ejected from the bus, which suffered a “heavy quantity of injury,” O’Callaghan stated.
Whereas the investigation is ongoing, O’Callaghan stated officers imagine most passengers weren’t carrying a seatbelt.
Translators are additionally coming to help police as the general public on the tour bus have been Indian, Chinese language and Filipino, O’Callaghan stated.
A listing of the passengers offered by the bus firm confirms there have been 52 folks on board, together with the driving force, police stated in an announcement.
The accident befell alongside Interstate 90 eastbound close to the city of Pembroke, east of Buffalo, New York, and ro ughly 40 miles east of Niagara Falls, a state police spokesperson stated in an announcement. The state Thruway is at the moment closed in each instructions close to the crash website, state police say.
The bus was driving at full velocity and didn’t hit some other automobiles, however misplaced management from the median onwards, O’Callaghan stated.
Helicopters, ambulances and legislation enforcement swarmed the crash website, the place the bus was seen on its aspect with many individuals gathered round it.
“A number of witnesses noticed the bus lose management, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police stated in a information launch.
The state’s division of transportation is attempting to assist folks get off the interstate as some stay stranded because of the incident, O’Callaghan stated.
“It’s a really risky scene. We have now automobiles going the mistaken method on the 90,” he stated, describing the world as “extremely traveled.”
The motive force is “alive and effectively” and dealing with authorities, O’Callaghan stated, and a few victims have been taken to the Robust Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and stated first responders are “working to rescue and supply help to everybody concerned” in a submit on X.
It is a growing story and will likely be up to date.
CNN’s Nic F. Anderson contributed to this report.
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