On Thursday, two buses carrying Chinese tourists veered off the same stretch of highway on New Zealand’s South Island, resulting in 15 passengers being hospitalized, two with serious injuries. The incident occurred on a popular tourist route known for its scenic beauty but also its treacherous conditions during winter.

According to New Zealand police, both buses were traveling in the same direction when they slid off the road and overturned, just 100 meters apart. The crashes occurred at roughly the same time, amidst freezing temperatures, heavy fog, and black ice reported by other drivers on the highway.

The cause of the crashes is still under investigation. While officials declined to confirm the nationality of the passengers, the Chinese consulate in Christchurch confirmed that the buses were carrying Chinese tourists.

Fifteen passengers were transported to the hospital, two by helicopter due to the severity of their injuries. Eight others sustained moderate injuries, while five had minor injuries. The number of passengers treated at the scene and the total number of passengers on the buses remain unknown.

Grace Duggin, an Australian tourist traveling behind one of the buses, witnessed the crash firsthand. She described seeing the bus veer off the road and roll multiple times before landing in a field. Duggin attributed the crash to the treacherous black ice, a common hazard on South Island highways during winter.

She recounted seeing a man pull bloodied passengers out through a hatch in the roof of the bus, noting that many children suffered severe head lacerations. The bus windows were shattered, resulting in numerous glass injuries.

Duggin observed that the second bus appeared to have veered off the road at the same time, a short distance further along the highway. Both buses seemed identical, but no logo or company name was visible.

Prior to the crash, New Zealand’s transport agency had issued a warning about wintry conditions on State Highway 8, the stretch of road where the incident occurred. This particular section, between Lake Tekapo and Twizel, had been closed days earlier due to another crash on a snowy, icy morning.

The South Island’s tourist highways, while offering breathtaking views, are notorious for their winding, slippery roads, posing a significant risk, especially to visitors unfamiliar with such conditions. The stretch of road where the crash occurred has seen previous fatalities, including a three-car crash in April that killed four people, including two Malaysian students.

In 2019, an American tourist pleaded guilty to driving charges after a crash that killed an Australian visitor. The incident involved the tourist drifting onto the wrong side of the road and hitting another car.

Tourist buses have been involved in deadly crashes on New Zealand’s highways in the past, often due to the challenging road conditions. In 2019, a bus carrying Chinese tourists flipped in rainy conditions north of Rotorua, resulting in the deaths of five passengers. In 2008, a bus carrying eight tourists and their driver was killed when it collided with a logging truck.