Six people remain in hospital following a serious minibus crash on King Island in Tasmania, which left 10 visitors injured and triggered a major emergency response involving medical teams from two states.
The Toyota HiAce passenger van was carrying a group of 10 tourists, all aged between their mid-70s and 80s, when it crashed on South Road near Pearshape in the south of the island around 4.20pm on Friday.
According to the King Island Courier, the passengers were part of a Travelrite tour group, with the driver also understood to be associated with the group.
Initial police investigations suggest the vehicle failed to negotiate a bend, losing traction on loose gravel before travelling down an embankment, rolling over and landing back on its wheels.
The crash prompted an extensive emergency response, with local police, volunteer ambulance crews, the State Emergency Service and Tasmania Fire Service attending the scene.
Given the number of casualties and the remote location, additional medical resources were flown in from Victoria and Tasmania.
Three injured passengers were transported to Melbourne by Air Ambulance Victoria, with one admitted to The Alfred Hospital in a stable condition and two others taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Three more patients were transferred to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where they also remain in stable conditions.
Four people initially treated at King Island District Hospital and Health Centre in Currie have since been discharged.
Injuries included suspected fractures, facial trauma, back pain and complaints of internal pain. Police said that despite the severity of some injuries, none were believed to be life-threatening.
Tasmania Police Inspector Steve Jones praised the work of emergency services and local volunteers, describing the incident as particularly challenging because of the number of casualties and the island’s remote location.
“The crash scene was quite complex, so the quick response and the level of care and assistance that the patients received from police and those in the volunteer emergency services, until such time as the specialist medical teams arrived, was outstanding,” he said.
Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are continuing. Anyone with information or dashcam footage from South Road around the time of the incident is asked to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444.
