A group of primary school children are suffering "life-changing" injuries, with some needing amputation, after a horrific bus crash.
A bus carrying 45 kids collided with a truck and rolled onto its side at about 3.40pm on Tuesday, leaving nine children aged five to 11 with traumatic or serious injuries in Australia.
The 49-year-old truck driver has been charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury near the small town of Eynesbury, west of Melbourne.
Head injuries, arm amputations and suspected spinal injuries were reported by a hospital official.
The police chief praised the actions of everyone who helped the emergency workers pull trapped children from inside the wreckage, including the bus driver.
“The bus driver, despite being injured, I understand that he helped some of the children out of the bus. Then we had passersby who have heroically stopped immediately… assisting the children who could be removed from the bus,” Victoria police Supt Michael Cruse told reporters.
He continued: “It was a horrific scene. It was chaotic and it would have been really confronting for those passersby, so I think a special mention to those people.”
Cruse believes more charges are likely.
A total of 21 children were initially taken by ambulance from the scene for medical care and seven of them remained hospitalised Wednesday.
One of the children was in intensive care, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne CEO Bernadette McDonald said.
"The children have suffered multiple and traumatic injuries including partial and complete amputations of arms, multiple crushing injuries, severe lacerations of the head and body, head injuries, glass shard injuries and three patients are - being monitored carefully in terms of spinal injuries," McDonald told reporters.
She also said the hospital was assisting some extremely traumatised families, adding: "We're working extremely hard to provide that trauma support and care that they will need, not just now but in the coming weeks and months as well."
McDonald said one child lost an entire arm but she did not elaborate on how many of the injured had partial amputations.
About six children were temporarily trapped in the wrecked bus, the Country Fire Authority said.
Emergency crews entered the bus through a skylight in its roof and the smashed-out windshield was used as the main emergency exit.
The bus driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries but was not admitted. The truck driver was not injured.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, praised the work of first responders: "Any accident is just horrific of this nature. The fact that it involves school students just breaks your heart, and my heart goes out to them and their families."
