The crash happened on Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd shortly after 1.45pm on Tuesday.

A 32-year-old man has been charged with careless driving causing injury following a bus crash near Queenstown that left a woman and a girl in hospital when they lost limbs.

The bus, carrying a Chinese tour group, crashed on an "acute bend" shortly after 1.45pm on Tuesday on Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd, south of Closeburn Rd.

Twenty-three people, including the driver, were on board. All of them were Chinese nationals. St John staff treated 20 for injuries.

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Stuff understands a woman lost an arm and a girl both her hands in the crash. The woman was flown to Dunedin Hospital and the girl to Christchurch Hospital.

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The bus driver is expected to appear in the Queenstown District Court on Monday.

A Southern District Health Board (SDHB) spokeswoman said the woman remained in hospital in a stable condition on Wednesday.

The Canterbury District Health Board could not provide a condition update for the injured girl.

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff An injured person is taken off a rescue helicopter at Dunedin Hospital.

Awing Travel NZ Limited ran the bus involved in the crash, but the tour group was part of a separate travel agency's booking.

Tour operator Bing Bai said on Wednesday morning he was awaiting an update on those injured in the crash.

He declined to comment on charges being laid against the driver, and said he could not comment further on the crash until he had spoken with police and those involved.

Alongside the seriously injured patients, three with minor injuries were taken to Lakes District Hospital.

The SDHB spokeswoman said two of the patients had been discharged, while the third was taken to Dunedin Hospital and remained in a stable condition.

HAMISH MCNEILLY/STUFF The Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter arrives at Dunedin Hospital with a patient injured from a Queenstown bus crash. (Video first published in January 2020)

The spokeswoman said she was unable to provide any information about potential amputations to the seriously injured patients.

Otago Lakes District commander Olaf Jensen earlier told the Otago Daily Times it was a "traumatic scene" and there were some "quite traumatic injuries".

The remaining passengers were taken back to their accommodation in Queenstown on Tuesday evening and arrangements were being made for their return to China, he said.

Police forensically examined the crash scene on Tuesday and are continuing to investigate the cause.

"Our roads are particularly busy over the summer period and we urge people to be vigilant while they are driving," he said in a statement.

"Driving any vehicle can be life-threatening if you're not being responsible."

Information provided by the Ministry of Transport shows that under the Land Transport Rule: Seatbelts and Seatbelt Anchorages 2002, all vehicles must have seatbelts in all positions, except heavy buses.

Supplied Queenstown woman Noelene Tait on her 84th birthday, Christmas Day 2019. She was killed in a car crash on January 14.

Queenstown station officer Terry O'Connell said the crash was "very serious", but could have been "a damn sight worse".

The section of road where the crash happened was a "reasonably tight bend" but not considered dangerous.

"It's well sign-posted and it comes down a hill and does a bit of an 'S' bend."

The road could pose a problem for motorists not familiar with the road, he said.

O'Connell applauded the work of emergency services, many being volunteers, and passersby who stopped to help.

"We're out to help our visitors to our country and it showed," he said.

Supplied Lochana Kulasiri remains in Dunedin Hospital after being seriously injured in a crash on Frankton Rd, Queenstown, on January 11.

NZ Bus and Coach Association chief executive Pim Borren​ said he was upset and "extremely concerned" for those involved in the crash.

He confirmed Awing Travel NZ Limited was a member of the association and had spoken to the owner.

"He's extremely upset, supporting the passengers and the tourists and the people who are in hospital. He's obviously concerned for the driver and for everybody else, " Borren​ said.

"He runs about eight coaches [and] he's been operating for some time."





The association had no previous concerns with the company, he said.

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the agency had not been notified.

If police identified a health and safety issue they would tell WorkSafe, and it could launch its own investigation.

According to NZ Transport Agency crash data, there have been at least nine other crashes on the same stretch of Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd since January 2000. Three resulted in minor injuries.

Tuesday's crash is the latest in a string of serious crashes near Queenstown in recent weeks.

Noelene Tait, 84, died after police say a rental car crossed the centre line on Frankton Rd and collided head-on with her car just after 3.30pm last Tuesday.

A 29-year-old male tourist has been charged with careless driving causing death and two counts of careless driving causing injury.

On January 11, Lochana Kulasiri, who lives with his wife and children in Queenstown, was critically injured in a three-vehicle crash on Frankton Rd.

He has since undergone multiple surgeries in Dunedin Hospital.

Last year, five Chinese tourists were killed when a tour bus with 27 people on board rolled on State Highway 5 in Ngatira near Rotorua on September 4.

A man was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle causing death.