A woman in her 50’s suffered serious multiple injuries following a high speed crash in the Karangahake Gorge on Sunday.

The woman had been a passenger in a car that collided with a bus carrying 47 passengers just north of Waikino on State Highway 2 about 3.30pm.

 
The aftermath of a high speed collision between a car and a bus in the Karangahake Gorge on Sunday afternoon. Photo: ARHT

Police, ambulance and fire crews were dispatched to the scene of the crash shortly after.

Fire Service Northern Communications Centre shift manager Paul Radden says when the Paeroa and Waihi crews arrived at the scene they discovered one person trapped inside the silver four-door sedan.

“Fire service members extricated the person who was trapped in the service and then left them in the care of ambulance staff,” he says.

Following the crash SH2 was closed for a brief period to allow the Auckland Coromandel Rescue Helicopter to land at about 4.35pm.

Trust spokesperson Kerrie Spicer says upon arrival the Whitianga-based crew discovered the female passenger of the car in a critical condition after sustaining multiple injuries, while the male driver was in a minor condition.

“Crew treated and transported both patients from the car to Waikato Hospital,” she says.

“Ambulance crew looked after the bus passengers, approximately 47 passengers who were mainly tourists, with some of them suffering minor injuries.”

Details of what caused the crash are still unknown at this stage.

 
Approximately 47 passengers, mainly tourists, were on board a bus involved in a high speed head on collision in the Karangahake Gorge on Sunday. Photo: ARHT