Father of Eynesbury school bus crash victims speaks of the trauma his family is going through

The father of two daughters recovering in hospital after the horror Eynesbury crash says “both girls just keep crying, saying that they want to go home”.

Eynesbury bus crash victims Gurseerat and Gurnaaz have been left devastated by their injuries.

Sisters Gurseerat and Gurnaaz were known around Exford Primary School for their bubbly personalities and always sat next to each other on the bus ride home.

But now the girls, aged 5 and 10, are struggling not to cry while they recover together at the Royal Children’s Hospital after suffering serious injuries in last week’s horror bush crash at Eynesbury.

Speaking for the first time, their devastated father Gurinderdeep Singh said his youngest daughter Gurseerat had suffered life-changing injuries to her arm because his girls had sat on the side the bus tipped over onnto.

“Our lives have changed forever, it has been very traumatic for the family,” Mr Singh said.

Victims Gurseerat, 5, and Gurnaaz, 10.

The girls are both recovering in the Royal Children’s Hospital. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

He detailed how Gurseerat was sitting in the window seat, while her Gurnaaz was sitting next to her.

“The impact was so bad, Gurseerat’s arm was stuck and she couldn’t move, it was terrible for them to go through this,” he said.

“Gurseerat now needs a skin graft as she has been left with lifelong injuries. Gurnaaz was also injured and her arm is in a plaster cast.”

Mr Singh, who moved to Melton on a student visa with his wife Balwinder and their girls, said he came to Australia for a better life. But now he says that’s all been torn apart.

The girls were sitting next to each other on the school bus when the smash happened. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“It’s even worse as both my daughters are admitted at the same time and it’s very difficult to give them both my attention. They are in different hospital rooms,” he said.

Mr Singh revealed how the girls’ grandfather Shaminder, who is visiting from India, had just arrived in Australia and was waiting to pick up his granddaughters at the bus stop.

“He saw several ambulances speeding past, he immediately knew something was wrong as the bus had not turned up yet,” Mr Singh said.

“Shaminder then got into another parent’s car and rushed to follow emergency services. As soon as he saw the bus turn on its side, he froze and he was in complete shock.

“He could see what was unfolding from a distance and tried to approach the bus, but he was stopped by police. It was extremely frightening for him.

“It wasn’t too long after that he saw the girls being rescued from the bus and they were immediately taken to hospital.”

Mr Singh said his daughters had been left devastated by their injuries.

“It may take years for Gurseerat’s arm to recover,” he said. “Gurnaaz has a plaster on her arm. She has been deeply affected by the incident, she cries when she sees her little sister.

“Both girls just keep crying saying that they want to go home. It’s been very traumatic for them and devastating for our family.

“They both haven’t been able to get out of bed. It’s just so sad to watch as they are usually laughing and so full of life.”

But Mr Singh said his family was “extremely grateful” to the community for their support after raising thousands of dollars via a GoFundMe page.

“At the moment, we are unable to work as we are here on a student visa,” he said.

“We want to thank the whole community for their generosity during this very difficult time,” he said.

“People have been very supportive. We are beyond grateful and want to thank all of the emergency services, Royal Children’s Hospital and school community. Our thoughts are with the other victims affected by this tragedy, they are all in our hearts,” he said.

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