A number of people have died in a bus crash north of Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island.

Police advised of fatalities after a bus carrying more than 20 people rolled from State Highway 5 at Ngātira in bad weather conditions on Wednesday.

Emergency services, including five helicopters and three ambulances, were dispatched to the scene to assist survivors and transfer them to hospitals in Waikato and Rotorua.

The bus was believed to be carrying overseas tourists, the Rotorua Post reported. A Mandarin translator had arrived at the ambulance base where some of the injured passengers were taken, it said.

St John ambulance said one patient in a serious condition and one in a moderate condition had been airlifted to Waikato hospital; one in a serious condition had been taken to Tauranga by air; and three in moderate condition to Rotorua by road. A further 15 patients were being assessed.

More to come