The Hawke’s Bay fruit-growing community is rallying around a group of Tongan seasonal workers who were involved in a serious bus crash just hours after landing in New Zealand this morning.
Emergency services responded to the crash between Rotorua and Taupō at around 7.30am.
St John responded with four ambulances, two helicopters and a rapid response unit. It also sent a major incident support team.
Immigration NZ national manager Pacific Mike Sorensen confirmed this afternoon that the accident involved a bus carrying 30 Tongan workers travelling to the Hawke’s Bay to start work with their employer Mr Apple.
They had been picked up from Auckland Airport in the early hours of the morning.
Police said the crash occurred on Broadlands Rd at around 7.30am. (Source: 1News)
Mr Apple spokesperson Gary Jones said preparations already underway for the workers were boosted when news of the crash was received.
“We’ve got people on the ground here preparing for them to arrive and we’ll have food for them.
“We’ve got a physiotherapist waiting just to assess how they’re feeling for the ones that have been discharged and tomorrow we’ve got counsellors and Pacifica Health turning up as well.”
Jones said workers would be able to contact loved ones back home as soon as they arrive.
“Tonight it’ll be great, they’ll have good wi-fi, probably a lot of them may not have been able to communicate much with back home.”
He said Mr Apple would continue to assist the workers that remain in hospital.
“We’ll just make sure we look after them as well as best we can.”
Recognised seasonal employees, or RSEs, are “vital” to the Hawke’s Bay horticultural industry, said Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers Charitable Trust chairperson Brydon Nisbet.
“All employees of RSEs have pastoral support, they have designated people that will get around them.”
Nisbet said the sector was mindful of the difficult time many RSE workers faced last February when Cyclone Gabrielle struck the region.
Many workers lost all their possessions and faced terrifying waits to be evacuated from the roofs of their accommodation.
“It just doesn’t seem to stop does it with the cyclone and the wet weather and now this,” Nisbet said.
“We’ve just got to keep looking forward and they’re such a valuable part of our industry, so well respected, they’re a great part of our community here.”