Teacher may have fallen asleep at wheel

A teacher driving a group of Australian students may have fallen asleep at the wheel before their mini van collided with a milk tanker, a coroner's court has heard.

An inquest into the deaths of Andre Vogel, 36, and Gabriel Runge, 16, is underway in Rotorua today.

Two witness accounts, from Inspector Kevin Taylor and Australian teacher Patricia Jeffree, have been heard so far.

Mr Taylor said fatigue was thought to be a major factor for Mr Vogel crossing the centre line and crashing into the milk tanker on State Highway 5 near Reporoa on November 28 last year.

Six other students from Queensland's Noosa Pengari Steiner School, as well as Ms Jeffree, were also injured in the crash.

The school group was in New Zealand on a hiking trip. They had just completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and were returning to Rotorua at the time of the crash.

The inquest continues this afternoon.

By Stephanie Arthur-Worsop of the Rotorua Daily Post