As it happened: Multiple people killed in Hunter Valley wedding bus crash tragedy; driver charged

That’s where we’ll leave our live updates of the horrific bus crash in the Hunter Valley for today. If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of what we know so far:

• Ten people are dead and more than 20 are injured after a bus carrying guests from a wedding crashed at Greta in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, about 11.30pm on Sunday.
• The coach was travelling on Wine Country Drive when it overturned, trapping passengers inside the vehicle, at the roundabout near the Hunter Expressway off-ramp
• Bus driver Brett Andrew Button, 58, has been charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, and with negligent driving occasioning death. Button, of Maitland, will face Cessnock Local Court tomorrow. Police are expected to speak publicly at 8am.

• Passengers on the bus were on their way back to Singleton after attending the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell at Wandin Valley Estate in Lovedale.
• Many guests at the wedding, including the groom, were members of the Singleton Roosters Australian rules team. Nine passengers who were injured in the crash were members of the Warrandyte Cricket Club in Victoria.
• The bus has been pulled upright as the police operation continues to identify the dead.

• Twenty-six passengers were taken to hospitals in Newcastle and Sydney. Of those, 14 remain in hospital; one in a critical condition
• The coach, a Volvo with 57 seats, was operated by Linq Buslines. The business has more than 30 years’ experience and its coaches are equipped with seatbelts.
• Police said first responders were confronted by a “very traumatic scene” and warned the death toll could rise
• Premier Chris Minns said the crash was a “terrible, terrible event in the history of NSW” when he visited Greta earlier today. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the crash, hours after the wedding, as an “unimaginable” tragedy that was “so cruel, and so sad, and so unfair”.
• A drop-in mental health clinic will be open in Singleton from Tuesday morning as the community comes to terms with the crash. If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

A cricket club in Melbourne’s north says several of its members sustained serious injuries in Sunday night’s Hunter Valley bus crash.

The Warrandyte Cricket Club treasurer David Molyneux said while they’d confirmed no members had been killed in the incident, several members had sustained injuries in the crash. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

Molyneux said the club had scrambled to piece together information coming out of Sydney at an emergency meeting on Monday evening.

“We are in shock and very sad and concerned for our friends in Sydney - we’re waiting to hear more news.”

The Hunter Valley bus crash that killed 10 people and hospitalised multiple others on Sunday night is the fifth-worst on record in Australia.

To find the worst crashes, you have to go back to the late 1980s, when horror crashes at Kempsey and Grafton in NSW killed 56 people and triggered major reforms to the industry.

Thirty-five people were killed when two tourist bushes crashed on the Pacific Highway north of Kempsey.Credit: Fairfax Photographic

The deadliest bus crash in Australian history was a few days before Christmas in 1989, when two tourist coaches crashed head-on near Kempsey, on the Pacific Highway at Clybucca Flat.

Thirty-five people died, including two bus drivers, and another 41 were injured, when the driver of a bus bound for Sydney fell asleep at the wheel and collided with the coach bound for Brisbane.

Two months earlier and only 200 kilometres away from Kempsey, 21 people died, and 22 people were seriously injured, when a semi-trailer crashed into a coach on the same highway near Grafton.

The truck driver, who died in the crash, was found to have an extraordinary high level of ephedrine in his blood. It is now illegal to drive a heavy vehicle while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol.

The National Safety Commission found the Kempsey and Grafton crashes were “arguably Australia’s most catastrophic examples of high consequence/low probability incidents in the bus industry”.

In their aftermath, the NSW Coroner recommended a review of coach seats, seat anchorages, seatbelts and better emergency exits for coaches.

Read more about Australia’s worst bus crashes here.

One man offered free accommodation at his Airbnb property for families visiting injured bus crash victims in hospital. A woman said visitors could also bed down at her granny flat nearby. Another who owned a laundry business said she would wash and iron family members’ clothes for free.

“One less thing to even think about,” the woman wrote.

Residents from the Newcastle region have taken to the Cessnock Community Noticeboard page on Facebook to offer practical support and accommodation to families affected by the horrific bus crash that killed 10 passengers soon after they left a wedding reception in the Hunter Valley on Sunday night.

The bus windscreen was smashed during the emergency response.Credit: Nine News

Twenty-six people were taken to several hospitals, including John Hunter Hospital and Mater Hospital in Newcastle, for treatment after the crash at Greta. Some have since been discharged.

About 20 people injured in the crash remain in hospital; one in a critical condition.

The offers to help were prompted by a post from one user, Matty Smith, who wrote this afternoon that he was ”unsure how to reach family but I have an Airbnb near John Hunter Hospital I will offer for free for family of the bus crash patients under care there. It sleeps [five].”

Another user, Alyssa Muddle, wrote: “I’m not sure if you managed to get in contact with anyone but I also have a self-contained granny flat. We are 25 minutes from [John Hunter Hospital].”

Elyse Reay wrote: “For any family members who need to stay, I run a laundry business. Happy to wash/iron any clothes they need for free as well. I’ll pick up and deliver for you. One less thing to even think about.”

Smith’s original post has been shared 2000 times and attracted about 1000 positive responses.

One member of the group, Rhonda Hadfield, commented: “People put Cessnock down, but we have some truly thoughtful people like you here. Good on you.”

Parents of Victorians hurt in the Hunter Valley bus crash that killed 10 passengers have flown to NSW to be with their children in hospital as the small community of Warrandyte fears there may be more tragic news to come.

The crash happened hours after the wedding of young couple Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell, when the bus carrying dozens of their wedding guests rolled on the way back from the reception.

Gaffney had played for the Warrandyte Cricket Club in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs, before moving to the Hunter Valley six years ago. Edsell played netball for the Warrandyte Netball Club from juniors through to seniors.

Eight current and former players from the cricket club, and five of their partners, were on board the bus. The newlyweds were not aboard.

A Warrandyte sporting club source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said parents of some injured passengers on the bus had flown to NSW to be by their children’s’ side in hospital.

They were also concerned there may be other fatalities from Warrandyte, and said there had been confusion late on Sunday night as news of the crash filtered through.

Read the full story here.

Within seven minutes of the first call about the deadly Hunter Valley bus crash, an ambulance had arrived. Commander Luke Wiseman, who was at the scene within 45 minutes, said it was “exceptionally confronting” and unlike anything he had witnessed.

Nine of the passengers – guests from a wedding earlier on Sunday – were dead, and a 10th person later died in hospital. Some were trapped in the overturned vehicle, and others had suffered amputations, Wiseman said. He did not go into detail out of respect for those involved.

NSW Ambulance Chief Superintendent Luke Wiseman was at the crash scene within 45 minutes.Credit: Nick Moir

“Their traumatic injuries were significant.”

Wiseman, a chief superintendent, has recounted the heroic efforts of about 30 paramedics who were among emergency crews who helped dozens of victims of the horrific crash late on Sunday night.

“What we found is an exceptionally confronting scene,” he said.

You can read the full story here.

The bright lights of the Vivid Sydney festival will go dark briefly tonight to pay tribute to the victims of the Greta bus crash tragedy.

NSW Police said on Twitter the colourful lights illuminating the city’s landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, would be switched off for one minute from 7.30pm.

Ticketed events including the Lightscape, Dark Spectrum and Wild Lights shows will proceed as scheduled.

Crowds of thousands of people having been visiting the festival each night to see the events, light shows and installations that are scattered throughout the city, and centred around Circular Quay.

A drop-in mental health clinic will be set up in Singleton from Tuesday morning as the devastated community comes to terms with the fatal bus crash in nearby Greta, in the Hunter Valley region.

NSW Health said anyone who needed mental health support could visit the clinic, staffed by disaster response workers, senior mental health clinicians and support services, at the Singleton Youth Venue, on the corner of Bathurst and Pitt Streets from 9am.

The passengers onboard the bus were on their way back to Singleton after attending the wedding of Maddy Edsell and Mitchell Gaffney, who were both players at the Singleton Roosters AFL club.

The acting chief executive of Hunter New England Health, Susan Heyman, offered her condolences to the bus crash victims and their families, and said:

“Our priority is providing support to those impacted by this tragedy, including the Singleton community as they deal with the aftermath.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the crash was a “truly heartbreaking tragedy which will be felt by this community for a long time to come”.

“I want to assure the community and the frontline health workers involved that we are with you for the long haul,” he said.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Or, call the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511. The 24-hour telephone service offers free professional help and advice, and referrals to mental health service.

A family has placed flowers beside the steadily growing pile of roadside tributes near the scene of the horror bus crash that killed 10 passengers.

Jess, who declined to give her last name, was joined by her young children, Brock and Leah. They stood by the road for a moment and shared a hug before they left.

Nearby resident Jess, with daughter Leah and son Brock, brought flowers to pay tribute to the crash victims.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Jess said they didn’t know anyone involved in the crash, but live nearby.

Earlier, two women added bunches of flowers to the slowly growing collection of bouquets a few kilometres from the site of the crash.

Odessa Sarnelli and Georgie Bainbridge said they didn’t know those involved, but had wanted to show their love for their community.

Some bus crash victims might be from interstate, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb says, as officers combing the wreckage begin the lengthy process of identifying the 10 passengers who died.

“It’s my understanding that at the wedding, and indeed on the bus, are people from a number of areas, both local and within the Singleton [local government area], but also from Sydney and perhaps Queensland and Victoria,” Webb said during a press conference earlier this afternoon.

The bus was travelling on Wine Country Drive at Greta when it overturned.Credit: Nine News

“I could not provide any more detail at this time in relation to those people.”

Webb said the bus had been shifted upright about 15 hours after it tipped on its side, trapping some passengers, at a roundabout as it approached the Hunter Expressway at 11.30pm on Sunday.

The bus was carrying 35 wedding guests, who were on their way back to Singleton, and the driver.