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Three bows for bus crash dead - Chinese Ambassador lays flowers at fatal tour bus crash site
Benn Bathgate and Christel Yardley14:20, Sep 05 2019
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador lays down flowers at the fatal bus crash which claimed five people.
Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi has paid a sombre visit to the site of Wednesday's fatal bus crash, laying flowers and bowing at the spot where five Chinese tourists lost their lives.
Xi visited the site just after 11am on Thursday - almost exactly 24 hours after the crash.
In a stark contrast to the wet and overcast weather on the day of the crash, Xi arrived to dry weather and sunshine, pulling up at the site in a people carrier behind an unmarked police escort car.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi lays flowers at the site where five Chinese nationals lost their lives.
As she emerged from her vehicle, Xi looked visibly upset and, speaking from behind dark glasses, described how she had been left "traumatised and saddened" by what she described as a tragic incident.
At a press conference at Rotorua Police Station on Wednesday, Bay of Plenty road policing district manager Inspector Brent Crowe said the bus crossed to the other side of the road, corrected, then flipped onto the driver's side, "quite a way off the road".
READ MORE:
*Seatbelts saved tour bus passengers in fatal crash near Rotorua
*Rotorua bus crash: Tourist describes moment bus rolled
*Five tourists killed in bus rollover crash near Rotorua
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi, centre, and others visited the fatal tour bus crash which claimed five lives on Wednesday.
The crash left five people dead, two with serious injuries and four with moderate injuries. Some walked away unscathed.
The bus contained 27 Chinese nationals.
Xi told Stuff all relatives of the deceased had been notified and that the Government had promised to expedite the visa process for any relatives wishing to come to New Zealand.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi and Ambassadorial staff approach the crash site.
"We are going to do our utmost to help them."
Xi said she had travelled from Waikato Hospital where she had met with some of the victims.
The three tourists there were "seriously injured ... but they are well taken care of" and described the relatives of the deceased as "very traumatised".
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
The section of State Highway 5 where the tourist bus lost control.
"We will help them in our own way get through this very difficult time," she said.
"We wish them all the best and share their miseries and sorrow."
Xi also paid tribute to the care crash victims had been receiving in New Zealand.
MARK TAYLOR
Less seriously injured survivors were led away from the scene of a bus crash near Mamaku, Rotorua.
With members of her entourage and an accompanying police officer, Xi then walked along a gravel slip road towards the crash scene. One of the party was carrying a bright bouquet.
One of the group asked the officer where to place the flowers before Xi bent down to place them on the ground.
She then stood in a line between two others and bowed in unison three times.
The short walk back to their vehicle took them past a well-used fly tipping site, with mattresses, household rubbish and an animal carcass strewn alongside the scrub.
Among the mess sat a decaying sofa, spray painted with a swastika and a racial slur.
Benn Bathgate and Christel Yardley14:20, Sep 05 2019
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador lays down flowers at the fatal bus crash which claimed five people.
Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi has paid a sombre visit to the site of Wednesday's fatal bus crash, laying flowers and bowing at the spot where five Chinese tourists lost their lives.
Xi visited the site just after 11am on Thursday - almost exactly 24 hours after the crash.
In a stark contrast to the wet and overcast weather on the day of the crash, Xi arrived to dry weather and sunshine, pulling up at the site in a people carrier behind an unmarked police escort car.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador Wu Xi lays flowers at the site where five Chinese nationals lost their lives.
As she emerged from her vehicle, Xi looked visibly upset and, speaking from behind dark glasses, described how she had been left "traumatised and saddened" by what she described as a tragic incident.
At a press conference at Rotorua Police Station on Wednesday, Bay of Plenty road policing district manager Inspector Brent Crowe said the bus crossed to the other side of the road, corrected, then flipped onto the driver's side, "quite a way off the road".
READ MORE:
*Seatbelts saved tour bus passengers in fatal crash near Rotorua
*Rotorua bus crash: Tourist describes moment bus rolled
*Five tourists killed in bus rollover crash near Rotorua
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi, centre, and others visited the fatal tour bus crash which claimed five lives on Wednesday.
The crash left five people dead, two with serious injuries and four with moderate injuries. Some walked away unscathed.
The bus contained 27 Chinese nationals.
Xi told Stuff all relatives of the deceased had been notified and that the Government had promised to expedite the visa process for any relatives wishing to come to New Zealand.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Chinese Ambassador, Wu Xi and Ambassadorial staff approach the crash site.
"We are going to do our utmost to help them."
Xi said she had travelled from Waikato Hospital where she had met with some of the victims.
The three tourists there were "seriously injured ... but they are well taken care of" and described the relatives of the deceased as "very traumatised".
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
The section of State Highway 5 where the tourist bus lost control.
"We will help them in our own way get through this very difficult time," she said.
"We wish them all the best and share their miseries and sorrow."
Xi also paid tribute to the care crash victims had been receiving in New Zealand.
MARK TAYLOR
Less seriously injured survivors were led away from the scene of a bus crash near Mamaku, Rotorua.
With members of her entourage and an accompanying police officer, Xi then walked along a gravel slip road towards the crash scene. One of the party was carrying a bright bouquet.
One of the group asked the officer where to place the flowers before Xi bent down to place them on the ground.
She then stood in a line between two others and bowed in unison three times.
The short walk back to their vehicle took them past a well-used fly tipping site, with mattresses, household rubbish and an animal carcass strewn alongside the scrub.
Among the mess sat a decaying sofa, spray painted with a swastika and a racial slur.
