Bus was taking cruise ship passengers on an excursion when it collided with car and plunged into a gully near Christchurch

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A bus carrying cruise ship passengers has collided with a car and plunged down a steep bank in New Zealand’s south island, critically injuring two people.

The accident happened on a narrow, two-lane road on the Akaroa peninsula outside Christchurch on Wednesday afternoon.

The two people with critical injuries were airlifted to Christchurch hospital. Five other people who suffered serious injuries and one person with moderate injuries were also taken to hospital. A further 26 people with minor injuries or who were unhurt were taken on a different bus to Akaroa fire station, where they were assessed.

The bus was transporting 31 guests from the Celebrity Solstice liner when it plunged bonnet first into a steep gully, embedding itself in thick vines and vegetation about 50 metres down the bank.

In a statement, Celebrity Cruises said six guests, all from the US, were injured and taken to hospital along with the drivers of both vehicles. The other passengers have all returned to the Celebrity Solstice, it added.

Motorist Joachim Vanoostrum told Radio New Zealand he was driving along the route when he came across a seriously injured woman trapped in her vehicle.



“I heard somebody yell for help, she was trapped pretty bad, then I saw that a bus actually came off the road and was about 10 metres down the bank in the bush,” Vanoostrum said.

“I ran down and there were about 30 people in the bus, so one window was smashed at the back, and we helped all the people out of the bus.

“I ran to the bus, stopped the engine and helped people one by one climb out of the window because it was about a 1.5-metre drop to get out. There were a few older people and people who were hard to move, so it wasn’t an easy job.”

Celebrity Solstice, which docked at Akaroa on Wednesday, carries 2,850 passengers and 1,250 crew.

Mark Kinchley, regional manager of industry body Cruise New Zealand, said the tourists were taking part in a shore excursion when the accident occurred.

Late last year, passengers from the same cruise ship were involved in two separate road accidents when the ship was docked in the North Island city of Tauranga. A 71-year-old woman was killed in one of the accidents.