Police have confirmed there were no survivors from a car that collided with a bus in a fiery road crash in Southland on Tuesday night.
"This is a horrific incident that has impacted a large amount of people and that of the Te Anau and Milford communities," says Area Commander Joel Lamb.
"Due to the damage to the vehicle it will take the Police Disaster Victim Identification Team some time to positively identify any individuals in the vehicle."
Police haven't been able to confirm how many people were in the rental car, but a witness has told them two people were inside at the time of the crash.
Explorer Tourlines Ltd owner Stephen Cook privately met with the passengers and driver from the bus on Wednesday morning in Queenstown to apologise for the incident.
The passengers are now on their way back to Auckland before heading home to their respective countries.
Mr Cook is also expected to visit the scene of the crash in Te Anau.
A car and a bus were involved in the collision just before 3pm on the Te Anau-Milford Highway.
While all passengers aboard the bus were quickly accounted for, emergency services couldn't reach the other vehicle due to flames.
The extent of the fire meant the search for occupants was not possible on Tuesday night, Insp Lamb said.
The road was reopened at 10:45pm on Tuesday.
The bus was carrying tourists and some of those on board were taken to a medical centre in Te Anau to be assessed for minor injuries.
Other passengers were picked up by other buses that were nearby.
Both the police serious crash unit and the commercial vehicle investigation unit are looking into the incident.
Newshub.
