One person was trapped and partially submerged in water after a bus crashed six metres down a Tongariro National Park bank, injuring at least 15.
The woman, initially trapped and partially submerged in water, had been freed from the 20-seater bus.
A police spokesman confirmed at least 15 people were injured, four of them seriously and were en route to hospital, following the crash at the intersection of State Highways 47 and 48.
Two of the seriously injured passengers were being flown by rescue helicopter to Hamilton while the other two were being flown to Palmerston North, he said.
SH48 is the road that leads to Whakapapa Village and Mt Ruapehu in the Central North Island.
Police and fire worked with search and rescue to carry the injured out and up onto the road to waiting ambulances, a police spokeswoman said.
The serious crash unit had also been sent.
Eight ambulances were sent to the crash, along with multiple police and fire service vehicles.
Authorities are reporting the crash occurred at the state highways' intersection, but others in the area have said that the crash happened on the Whakapapa side of the national park, possibly near The Chateau Tongariro Hotel.
A staff member at the Chateau did not wish to comment.
The area is popular with tourists, especially those wanting to walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It is believed the crashed vehicle is a small tourist bus.
Tour operators have cancelled their operations on the crossing today due to 90km/h winds and 40mm rain.
A staff member at Skotel Alpine Resort in Whakapapa Village said the weather was "cloudy and misty".
The wind was picking up and it was cold, she said.
