Hunter Valley bus tragedy: NSW town mourns after horror crash
NSW Premier Chris Minns has arrived in the Hunter Valley at the scene of a horror bus tragedy that has killed 10 people and injured dozens more.
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Premier Chris Minns has described “undeniable despair” ripping through a stricken NSW country town after 10 people died and 25 more were injured when a bus rolled over after a Hunter Valley wedding.
“I woke up this morning to hear devastating news in an area that we normally associate with so much happiness and joy,” Mr Minns said when he arrived near the tragic crash site.
“To think that people came together to experience a day of joy and instead have been met with undeniable despair is truly shocking to the people of NSW.”
Mr Minns was flanked by NSW Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell, Hunter federal MP Dan Repacholi, Cessnock mayor Jay Suvaal and Singleton mayor Sue Moore after he attended a short briefing with Traffic and Highway Patrol A/Commissioner Tracey Chapman.
The Premier said he had also spoken to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other local MPs who had given their condolences and offered any assistance they could provide the bereft Singleton community in the wake of the sickening crash.
“Whatever the final toll is in this terrible accident, it will be more than we can bear,” the Premier said.
“The next few days and the next few weeks may be worse than the initial shock as it fully comes to the realisation of what this community has gone through.”
Mr Minns said providing all available resources to support the community through their shock, trauma and grief would be a priority, as well as supporting first responders from the local community who were confronted with the intensely distressing scene.
“We give a big thanks to emergency service workers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics in New South Wales who drop everything when they hear an alarm and have no idea what they’re on the road to deal with,” the Premier said.
“Obviously, in some instances, it is life altering and we need to be there for them in the coming days.”
Mr Minns described the horrific accident as a “terrible, terrible event in the history of NSW”.
“I think today is a day to hug someone that you love and remember how precious life is,” the Premier said.
Cessnock mayor Jay Suvaal and Singleton mayor Sue Moore expressed their grief at what their communities would face in the wake of the tragedy.
“Nobody wanted to wake up to this news,” Mr Suvaal said.
“My thoughts and the thoughts of the community are with everyone who was involved in this accident, their friends, their loved ones, their families - we just want to make sure that they’re cared for.”
“This is an absolute tragedy,” Ms Moore added.
“I don’t think there could be anything worse than people attending a wedding (for this to then happen), for these close knit communities of Singleton and Cessnock people will be affected quite widely and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and first responders.”
Ten people are dead and another 11 have been seriously injured after the bus rolled in the NSW Hunter Region overnight, at the roundabout on Wine Country Drive, near the Hunter Expressway off ramp, at Greta about 11.30pm.
On Monday morning, as the fog lifted across the region, Branxton residents Anne and Dianne were on their regular early morning walk as they passed the off-ramp near the site of the “shocking” crash they heard about that morning.
“It’s so sad, I’m shocked by it, I’m very shocked,” Dianne said.
“I can’t believe it’s happened. And we didn’t hear it.
“We did not hear a thing. The dog came in and out of the dog door but that’s all.”
The ladies said there had been similar incidents in the popular wedding destination in the past but nothing “this extreme”.
“The vineyards as so popular. There’s three or four weddings every week in Lovedale,” Anne said.
The pair said the roundabout was a “particularly good”, generally big and safe area to drive through.
“There was a lot of fog around though last night,” said Dianne.
“Imagine the poor bride and groom.
“It’s just heartbreaking to wake up to that news this morning. Our deepest sympathies to them,” said Anne.
The Hunter Expressway at Wine Country Drive has been closed off to cars while fire trucks and emergency services make their way to the crash site.
Late morning, the bus remained on its side as more than 20 emergency service crew members and forensic examiners inspected the damage and placed green tarps over it.
The Linq coach is believed to have travelled 40 metres from where it first entered the roundabout on Wine Country Drive to where it lost control and collided with a metal fence near the Hunter Expressway ramp.
Earlier, Mr Layzell said he would push the Premier for an emergency declaration – something usually reserved for natural disasters like floods – to ensure Singleton locals had enough support services in the wake of the tragedy.
“We’re trying to trigger the emergency response declaration – so we can get all the support services around Singleton. To lose this many people in a small community is devastating,” he said.
Mr Layzell said he wanted a crisis centre set up in the town immediately to provide a place for people to access trauma services.
“We’ll need to set up a crisis centre in Singleton to help the community come together,” he said.
“People will want to share their stories and we need the support services there at the same time.”
‘DEVASTATING’
Locals Kim and John Grecho placed a bouquet of flowers near the crash site.
“We heard all the commotion last night and thought we’d do what we can,” Ms Grecho said.
“It’s really sad, just terrible.”
“To have something like this happen so close to home is so sad.”
“It’s terrible, it’s a shock to our system,” Mr Grecho said.
“One of the happiest days of your life turns into one of the most tragic days of your life.”
Member for Hunter Dan Repacholi attended the site on Monday morning.
“It’s honestly just devastating news for the families involved,” he said.
“To leave such a beautiful venue and have an incident like this is heartbreaking.
“I take my hat off to first responders, this would be very confronting and very tough.”
Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association president Stuart Hordern said they had rallied around those at the wedding venue and community members who had been impacted by the tragedy.
“Feel for everyone involved in this terrible accident,” he said.
“There is going to be a lot of people that will be directly affected by what occurred last night, the association is supporting all of them that are impacted by the event.
“They are (those injured) the people that are foremost in our thoughts also this morning.”
He also wanted to thank and acknowledge the work of emergency responders.
“They have done incredibly, a caring professional job,” Mr Hordern added.
CHOPPERS AT MIDNIGHT
One long-term resident on Kesterton Rise in Huntlee, a housing development in Branxton which backs onto the tragic crash scene, said it was the first accident on that stretch she could remember.
“All we heard was the choppers flying very low around midnight when I was up with the baby,” she said.
“It gets really foggy here - so foggy that you can’t see our shed when you’re standing 20m away at the house, but it’s tragic - this is such a small community in Branxton, Greta and Singleton, we’ve been worried it would be people we knew.”
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