Two adults were killed and multiple students were injured on Thursday (local time) after a bus carrying them “tumbled down a 50-foot ravine" on Interstate 84 in Orange County in New York, CNN reported citing New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Hochul said the authorities responded to the accident at about 1:12 pm (local time) on Thursday. She stated that the students with the help of first responders and rescuers were removed from the bus and brought to safety. She called Thursday “a day of terror” and said the state was grieving the tragedy.
“Imagine the fear, the screams and the aftermath when these high school students – many of them freshmen – were surrounded by this chaos,” Hochul said, according to CNN.
"With the help of first responders and rescuers, the students were removed from the bus and brought to safety within 45 minutes," the governor added.
The commercial bus was carrying 40 students from Farmingdale High School and four adults, Lt Colonel Richard L Mazzone of the New York State Police said in a news conference, CNN reported.
Mazzone said there were several serious injuries, including five critical. He did not reveal the details regarding injuries. However, he said that the injured have been taken to six area hospitals.
Mazzone said, "Preliminary information indicates a failure of a front tire may have been a contributing factor to this accident,” adding that an investigation remains ongoing.
I-84 is shut down at exit 15A with detours in place, according to state police. It further said, "Interstate 84 westbound is expected to be closed for several hours."
Farmingdale High School spokesperson Jake Mendlinger said that the bus was heading to Greeley, Pennsylvania for band camp. According to the Farmingdale School District, the bus was one of six heading to a band camp event in Pennsylvania.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus in a statement said that their thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the bus crash and their families, CNN reported. Neuhaus thanked the first responders for their immediate response.
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