Ricky Wilson/Stuff
The front end of the bus had gone across the footpath and through a railing.
A bus carrying high school students has crashed on Newton Rd in Ponsonby, with the front end hanging off a bridge.
The front end of the bus had gone across the footpath and through a railing.
The bus was carrying a group of students, but the driver and teens on board had since been taken off.
Multiple emergency service vehicles, including Fire and Emergency and St John Ambulance, were at the scene.
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Police said they were called to the incident about 8.40am. They confirmed there were no injuries.
Lanes heading to Ponsonby were blocked, but one lane going towards Newmarket remained open.
“Motorists should expect delays and are advised to avoid the area if possible,” a police statement said.
Ricky Wilson/Stuff
The bus was carrying a group of students, but the driver and teens on board had since been taken off.
A passerby who arrived soon after believed the greasy road caused the bus to lose traction on the road and crash into the nearby railing.
The front end of the bus had gone into some bushes.
Traffic was being diverted down Piwakawaka St.
The police Eagle helicopter could be seen flying overhead.
All the students had been moved to a second bus.
Edward Gay/Stuff
Fire and Emergency was towing the bus back to safety.
Holly Gillan was on her way back from the gym when she heard a loud noise behind her that sounded like an explosion.
Gillan said she turned around to see a bus teetering on the edge of the bridge 15m behind her.
“It looks like the driver lost control and hit the railing.”
She said the students were helped off the bus and none appeared injured, “just shaken up”.
The bus was anchored to a fire truck with a steel cable and Fire and Emergency NZ was bringing in heavy haulage.
Twisted and bent metal railings could be seen where the bus had gone through the bridge’s barriers.
Coachways, the bus company, has been contacted for comment.
A Coachways bus driver who was coming in the opposite direction back to the bus yard across the Newton Rd bridge said he saw the bus hit the side of the bridge.
He said he stopped and helped get the girls off the bus.
He said it was a St Mary’s College bus on the school route.
He said there were no injuries, but a few of the students were “crying in shock”.
“I was just happy it wasn’t going down the bank.”
MORE TO COME.
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