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Yellowstone National Park: Seven killed in tour bus crash | Yellowstone National Park: Seven killed in tour bus crash |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Seven people have died in a collision between a tour bus and a truck near Yellowstone National Park. | |
Eight others were injured when a Chevy pickup truck and a van carrying 14 tourists crashed on a highway in eastern Idaho on Thursday. Police said an air ambulance flew some victims to hospital "due to the severity of the injuries". | |
Both vehicles caught fire. "Tragically, six individuals in the van and the driver of the pickup died as a result of the crash," Idaho State Police said. The identities or nationalities of the victims have not been revealed. | |
Police are still investigating the cause. The route where the crash took place leads into the park, which is now entering peak tourist season. | |
A photo from a passerby shows flames and billowing smoke near the crumpled front of the truck. | |
The witness who took the photo, local resident Roger Merrill, told the BBC's US partner CBS News he was on his way home when he saw the wreck. | |
Both vehicles were on fire, he said, and bystanders were trying to care for the survivors on the side of the highway. | Both vehicles were on fire, he said, and bystanders were trying to care for the survivors on the side of the highway. |
"It is a very dangerous highway because it leads to the main entrance of Yellowstone National Park," he said. "It's extremely busy." | "It is a very dangerous highway because it leads to the main entrance of Yellowstone National Park," he said. "It's extremely busy." |
The road was closed for seven hours while emergency teams treated victims and cleared the crash site, about 16 miles (25km) from Yellowstone's entrance. | |
Police said the local coroner's office will release the names of the dead after family members have been notified. | Police said the local coroner's office will release the names of the dead after family members have been notified. |
Yellowstone, the US's oldest national park, covers nearly 3,500 sq miles in three states: Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. | |
It draws an average of four million tourists every year, with the majority of visitors coming between May and September, according to the National Park Service. | It draws an average of four million tourists every year, with the majority of visitors coming between May and September, according to the National Park Service. |