<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Police are currently investigating the cause of a serious two-vehicle traffic crash after three female passengers aboard a bus were killed in Queensland during the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, a four-wheel drive towing a caravan and a bus crashed on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, a coastal town located in the state\u2019s north, reported Xinhua news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThree passengers on the bus died at the scene, including a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 20s, and a 56-year-old Townsville woman. Multiple other people were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries,\u201d Queensland Police said in its latest statement on the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the crash, the Bruce Highway was closed in both directions at Gumlu before reopening to traffic at midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Queensland Police Superintendent Graeme Paine provided an update to the local media outlet ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning, saying that officers are working to confirm the identities of a female in her 30s and another in her 20s, with several people still receiving treatment in the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of those is in critical condition. So there are certainly some concerns held for the safety of that person,\u201d Paine noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the superintendent, the incident occurred in a zone that has a speed limit of 100 km per hour. The bus was travelling northernly on the highway and the four-wheel drive was heading in a southern direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe impact that had occurred, it pushed the bus across to the railway line, hence we had the closure of the railway line at the time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given that an incident of this nature appeared \u201cvery complex,\u201d the officer didn\u2019t touch upon the cause of the accident, but stressed the necessity of going through \u201ca holistic investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur specialist crash investigators have forensically examined the scene. They are currently interviewing additional witnesses and there will be further analysis of evidence,\u201d said Paine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports from the Queensland Ambulance Service suggested that a total of 35 patients were assessed at the crash site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo patients with life-threatening injuries were airlifted to Townsville Hospital, and two patients with life-threatening injuries were airlifted to Ayr Hospital and four stable patients were transported by road to Ayr Hospital. Sadly, three people were deceased at the scene,\u201d said the local emergency agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, 24 other patients were identified with minor injuries and declined hospitalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a population of 124, Gumlu is a remote locality in the Whitsunday region, lying 1,223 km north of Queensland\u2019s capital Brisbane, with Bruce Highway as the major artery connecting a slew of towns along the state\u2019s eastern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitsunday Mayor Ry Collins described to ABC Radio that the section of the highway could be challenging as it \u201cfeels like a country road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no shoulder on the road. It is a fairly open section so I\u2019d imagine the vehicles coming either way would have been able to see each other but there\u2019s obviously been something happened here where one\u2019s veered into the other\u2019s lane,\u201d said Collins. AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australian Police are currently investigating the cause of a serious two-vehicle traffic crash after three female passengers aboard a bus were killed in Queensland during the weekend. Around 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, a four-wheel drive towing a caravan and a bus crashed on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, a coastal town located in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n