The unseasonably wet weather in the Top End is being cited as a possible factor in the accident in Kakadu National Park which saw a tourist bus roll.
It is thought 21 people were on board the bus, with 17 of them treated for injuries. Several were flown to Darwin for treatment, although none of them sustained life-threatening injuries. A 56-year-old man had surgery on a fractured pelvis and shoulder and suffered internal bleeding, while one woman received two fractured wrists, and another women suffered a dislocated sternum..
The accident happened about 15 kilometres south of Jabiru late yesterday afternoon in unusually wet conditions. Parts of the Top End have seen July rain for the first time since 2010.
NT Police Watch Commander Brendan Muldoon said Jabiru police were investigating all the circumstances surrounding the crash, although alcohol was definitely not a factor.
“The road was wet at the time … a storm cell had recently passed through,” he said. “The initial indication is the driver of the bus had not noticed some traffic in front was slowing down and at the last minute has attempted to avoid a collision and caused the vehicle to roll.”
Tourist John Prent was in a group travelling behind the bus that rolled-over, and was one of the first on the scene.
He said when he arrived people were in a daze and sitting on the side of the road and his group stopped to offer assistance.
“We were just stunned ourselves,” Mr Prent told the ABC. “It doesn’t really register.” Grey nomads and other visitors eager to enjoy some of Kakadu’s most iconic attractions such as Jim Jim Falls have to time their visits carefully as access is very limited outside of the Dry Season.
