A college in regional Victoria remains open in the wake of a serious bus crash involving 27 of its students to support those left traumatised by the event.
Ballarat’s Loreto College will stay open on Thursday despite the national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II to allow students, families and carers to access counselling, principal Michelle Brodrick said.
The college was plunged into shock after a school bus carrying 27 pupils in years nine to 11 crashed down an embankment on the Western Highway at Bacchus Marsh in the early hours of Wednesday after it was hit from behind by a truck.
Police called their escape from the vehicle “miraculous”.
“I think it was fairly harrowing for everyone involved – how anyone wasn’t more seriously injured is incredible,” Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Jason Templar told reporters on Wednesday.
Three teenage girls at the Royal Children’s Hospital remain in a stable condition.
A woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s remain in Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.
Kangaroo Transport Industries chief executive Steve Buck said the 60-year-old driver was a sub-contractor “who has been safely driving road trains for more than 30 years” and needed surgery after being trapped in the cab.
The other 25 students on the bus and four adults were taken to hospital for observation, police said.
Speed limits at the time of crash were reduced following a collision the previous night.
The students were on their way to the airport to travel to a NASA space camp in the United States.
Premier Daniel Andrews offered support to the school after speaking to the principal on Wednesday.
Grampians Health’s Ballarat Base Hospital treated 16 patients from the crash, with 13 of them discharged on Wednesday afternoon.
The Melbourne-bound lanes of the Western Freeway between Ballan and Bacchus Marsh have since re-opened, but the eastbound Bacchus Marsh Road exit ramp remains closed.
Major collision unit detectives are investigating the exact circumstances of the crash.
AAP
