Nine tourists were airlifted to Darwin for medical treatment after a bus rollover near Jabiru yesterday evening.
There were 18 people aboard the bus when it rolled on the Kakadu highway, 13 kilometres from Jabiru, at around 530pm.
Emergency services including St John Ambulance, Fire Rescue and CareFlight were called to the crash, with Police closing the road to traffic to allow the CareFlight Rescue Helicopter to land on the highway.
The Northern Territory rescue helicopter, which was already in the region, was immediately redirected to the scene, with the medical team landing shortly after 6pm.
CareFlight’s doctor began treating the most seriously injured, including a woman who had suffered chest injuries.
Meanwhile, from the Darwin base, CareFlight dispatched two King Air fixed wing air ambulances, the medical crews flying to the airstrip at Jabiru.
St John Ambulance vehicles were also dispatched to the scene.
Police kept the road closed for several hours as the medical teams assessed and treated patients, the majority for non-serious injuries. The passengers included men, women and children, both domestic and international tourists.
The CareFlight helicopter was used to ferry the most seriously injured to the airstrip in Jabiru, where the fixed wing aircraft was then able fly the first few patients on the 40 minute journey to Darwin, landing at around 10pm.
The second King Air fixed wing aircraft then transported a further three patients.
Finally, shortly before 11pm, a third aeroplane flew from Darwin to retrieve a further three, who had suffered the least serious of the injuries, including fractures, cuts and lacerations.
The rest of the passengers were assessed for minor injuries and transported locally by road with help from a local mining company bus and local medical clinic staff.
