At least five people, including an Indian national, were killed when a tour bus carrying 54 passengers from Niagara Falls to New York City overturned on Interstate 90 near Buffalo on Friday, police said.
The deceased were identified as Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, from Bihar; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City, New Jersey; and Jian Mingli, 56, also of Jersey City.
According to New York State Police, the crash occurred in Pembroke around 12.22 pm local time when the bus lost control, veered into the median, over-corrected, and rolled off the south embankment. “The cause of the collision is still under investigation. However, mechanical failure as well as operator impairment have been ruled out at this time,” said State Police Major Andre Ray. “The operator has been cooperative and with the investigation still underway. No charges have been filed at this point.”
The bus, operated by Staten Island-based M&Y Tour Inc. , was carrying passengers aged between 1 and 74, most of them Indian, Chinese or Filipino. Trooper James O’Callaghan said the vehicle was “extremely damaged” and that every passenger sustained some form of “cut, bruise or abrasion as an injury.” Multiple people were thrown from the bus during the crash.
Ray said five passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while several others remain hospitalised though none are in life-threatening condition. A child was initially thought to be among the dead, but that was later found to be incorrect.
The accident forced the closure of the New York State Thruway for several hours. The westbound lanes reopened around 5 pm, while the eastbound lanes were cleared at about 8.30 pm, nearly eight hours after the crash.
Records show that M&Y Tour Inc. had a “satisfactory” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2024, although it failed nine inspections out of 43 in the past two years. In 2019, the company was fined USD 15,000 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for mishandling hazardous waste at a Brooklyn property.
New York governor Kathy Hochul expressed condolences and said she had been briefed on “the tragic tour bus accident” on the Thruway. “My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved,” she posted on X.
Survivors recount harrowing ordealSome survivors described scenes of chaos and fear as the bus overturned. Richard Robles, 38, a Filipino national living in Qatar, said there was “so much blood. So much wounds.” Speaking from his hotel in Amherst, New York, he recalled, “My mindset was to get off the bus.”
Robles was travelling with a friend who sustained a head injury. He himself suffered only minor wounds. He said many passengers were pinned under the bus, while others lay bloodied on the ground.
Another survivor, a graduate student who identified herself only as Aria, said she had been trapped under the overturned bus for nearly an hour. “I was totally buried under the whole car,” she said. Emergency workers eventually pulled her free and airlifted her to a hospital. “They had so many people, volunteers and 911 police — together they helped to dig me out.”
Aria, who had recently moved to New York City for her studies, said she had taken the tour as a short vacation before her orientation. She recalled closing her eyes as the bus veered out of control. “When I was buried, I think I was very calm because I wanted to rescue myself. That was my priority at that time,” she said.
On Saturday afternoon, several survivors gathered in the lobby of a Marriott hotel in Amherst, some with casts, bandages and visible bruises. Robles said they were now trying to arrange their journey back to New York City. When asked how they would travel, he replied without hesitation, “Train or airplane.”
(With inputs from agencies)
The deceased were identified as Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, from Bihar; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City, New Jersey; and Jian Mingli, 56, also of Jersey City.
According to New York State Police, the crash occurred in Pembroke around 12.22 pm local time when the bus lost control, veered into the median, over-corrected, and rolled off the south embankment. “The cause of the collision is still under investigation. However, mechanical failure as well as operator impairment have been ruled out at this time,” said State Police Major Andre Ray. “The operator has been cooperative and with the investigation still underway. No charges have been filed at this point.”
The bus, operated by Staten Island-based M&Y Tour Inc. , was carrying passengers aged between 1 and 74, most of them Indian, Chinese or Filipino. Trooper James O’Callaghan said the vehicle was “extremely damaged” and that every passenger sustained some form of “cut, bruise or abrasion as an injury.” Multiple people were thrown from the bus during the crash.
Ray said five passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while several others remain hospitalised though none are in life-threatening condition. A child was initially thought to be among the dead, but that was later found to be incorrect.
The accident forced the closure of the New York State Thruway for several hours. The westbound lanes reopened around 5 pm, while the eastbound lanes were cleared at about 8.30 pm, nearly eight hours after the crash.
Records show that M&Y Tour Inc. had a “satisfactory” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2024, although it failed nine inspections out of 43 in the past two years. In 2019, the company was fined USD 15,000 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for mishandling hazardous waste at a Brooklyn property.
New York governor Kathy Hochul expressed condolences and said she had been briefed on “the tragic tour bus accident” on the Thruway. “My team is coordinating closely with @nyspolice and local officials who are working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved,” she posted on X.
Survivors recount harrowing ordealSome survivors described scenes of chaos and fear as the bus overturned. Richard Robles, 38, a Filipino national living in Qatar, said there was “so much blood. So much wounds.” Speaking from his hotel in Amherst, New York, he recalled, “My mindset was to get off the bus.”
Robles was travelling with a friend who sustained a head injury. He himself suffered only minor wounds. He said many passengers were pinned under the bus, while others lay bloodied on the ground.
Another survivor, a graduate student who identified herself only as Aria, said she had been trapped under the overturned bus for nearly an hour. “I was totally buried under the whole car,” she said. Emergency workers eventually pulled her free and airlifted her to a hospital. “They had so many people, volunteers and 911 police — together they helped to dig me out.”
Aria, who had recently moved to New York City for her studies, said she had taken the tour as a short vacation before her orientation. She recalled closing her eyes as the bus veered out of control. “When I was buried, I think I was very calm because I wanted to rescue myself. That was my priority at that time,” she said.
On Saturday afternoon, several survivors gathered in the lobby of a Marriott hotel in Amherst, some with casts, bandages and visible bruises. Robles said they were now trying to arrange their journey back to New York City. When asked how they would travel, he replied without hesitation, “Train or airplane.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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