Key Points
- A bus full of guests travelling from a wedding crashed on Sunday night, killing 10 people and injuring dozens.
- The community of Singleton, home to the bride and groom and many guests, is setting up fundraisers and counselling.
- Sporting clubs from Warrandyte, in Melbourne's northeast, have confirmed local residents were involved in the crash.
A small, tight-knit community is grieving after a bus full of wedding guests crashed in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
Ten people were killed and 25 others injured when the coach rolled near the town of Greta at about 11.30pm on Sunday.
Fourteen people remain in hospital with injuries ranging from lacerations to breaks and fractures, with two in the intensive care unit, police said.
Police have not confirmed the victims' identities.
It is understood the passengers were aged from their 20s to 60s.
The bus was returning guests from a wedding reception at Wandin Estate winery in Lovedale to Singleton, about 30 minutes away.
Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell have been identified by media as the newlyweds.
On Monday night, a number of residents came together at the Singleton Roosters Football Club, where members of the wedding party - including the bride and groom - have close ties.
The mayor of Singleton, Sue Moore, said a crisis support centre had opened in the youth venue for anybody in need of support.
"We are open, we are ready to accept people if they turn up here," she told the ABC.
Singleton mayor Sue Moore has established a community crisis support centre in the town's youth venue in the aftermath of the tragic bus crash. Source: AAP / Darren Pateman
"It's so hard to actually imagine what they're dealing with."
Singleton business owner Dorian Muddle told the ABC he expected the community to come together and provide support.
"When something like this happens, it's just shocking, absolutely shocking," he said.
"Knowing Singleton, I think everyone will band together and start offering fundraisers, our stock suppliers have already contacted us to see what we can offer first responders; they're going to assist us with stock to get the guys fed and give them an appreciation meal.
"And if there are locals affected directly, I'm sure we'll have dozens of fundraisers and everything to help them out."
A number of the bus passengers were from Warrandyte, in Melbourne's northeast, where the bride and groom grew up.
"To have such a joyous occasion turn so quickly to tragedy is just unimaginably cruel and sad," Warrandyte Netball Club president Jimmy Harris told AAP.
A number of the Warrandyte players and their partners were caught up in the tragedy.
"Our netball club, along with the football and cricket clubs, will do all we can to help those involved in the crash," Mr Harris said.
"Warrandyte is a close-knit community, and although this accident has hit us hard, we will all be there to support those in their time of need."
The Warrandyte Cricket Club confirmed several of its members were involved in the crash.
"We are working to support every person involved as more information comes to hand," the club posted on Facebook.
'A tragedy beyond comprehension': PM
At the start of Question Time on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the crash as "a tragedy beyond comprehension".
"Today we pause as a Parliament to mark a loss beyond words, a tragedy beyond comprehension, an unfairness beyond understanding," he said.
"What happened at Greta in the Hunter Valley was a cruel end to what should have been one of the happiest of days."
Mr Albanese said his thoughts were with the newlyweds, who he said "will never know the easy joy of an anniversary".
Mr Albanese also thanked the first responders and those assisting with treatment, recovery and support.
"The hard truth is that mental and emotional scars of this will not fade with time, they will live with people forever," he said.
"We have a responsibility to make sure that when the spotlight leaves the care doesn't, (for) the people who have witnessed this and for people who have experienced this tragedy first hand.
"To everyone who has been touched by this tragedy, I do want you to know that Australia wraps our arms around you."
Driver granted bail without entering a plea
Brett Andrew Button did not utter a word during his half-hour bail application.
"It is clear to this court he suffers along with the rest of the community," Cessnock Magistrate Robyn Richardson said on Tuesday.
That suffering and other mental health concerns played on the magistrate's mind as she granted bail to the man allegedly responsible for the nation's worst road disaster in decades.
He has not yet entered pleas to the charges.
He lost control while turning through a roundabout on an overpass.
Bus driver Brett Andrew Button is accused of driving dangerously fast in fog through a roundabout moments before his bus tipped over and crashed into a guard rail near Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley on Sunday night. Source: AAP / Luke Costin
Some survivors had given evidence of the driver's prolonged unsafe behaviour and call to "fasten your seatbelts" moments before he hit the bend and the bus tipped, the court was told.
The prospect Mr Button could interfere with those witnesses or other survivors not yet interviewed by police was a primary concern aired in his bail application.
Further charges were likely, including to address the serious injuries to two passengers receiving intensive care in Newcastle.
The prosecution also alleged he was at an unacceptable risk of fleeing the state, given the "inevitability" of a jail term if convicted.
Those hypotheticals were downplayed by his lawyer Chris O'Brien, who pointed to his client's strong ties to the local community and proposed bail conditions.
Chris O'Brien, Brett Andrew Button's lawyer, said his client was "happy to be going home" after being granted bail. Source: AAP / Luke Costin
Mr Button had a clean criminal record and only a handful of blemishes on his 30-year driving record, Mr O'Brien said.
He also needed treatment in the community for medical issues not detailed in court and likely faced waiting at least 18 months before a trial could begin.
"Whilst concerns are alive and exist, there are bail conditions which can ameliorate them," Mr O'Brien said.
The magistrate agreed, dismissing the police suggestion the risk was unacceptable while noting the grief the incident had caused to the community.
"The (legal) principle ... is bail is not to be denied as a punishment - determination of sentence is an entirely different issue," Ms Richardson said.
Mr O'Brien told reporters his client was doing well considering the circumstances.
"He's happy to be going home," Mr O'Brien told reporters.
"He's doing OK ... in all of the circumstances, he's holding up very well."
Earlier on Tuesday, Acting Assistant Commissioner David Waddell told media police believed Button was "driving in a manner that was inconsistent with the conditions".
The guard rail on Wine Country Drive near Greta was a major factor in the severity of the crash, and the scene was very confronting for first responders, he said.
Tributes are flowing after 10 people were killed and dozens injured during a bus crash on Wine Country Drive. Source: Getty
"It was a very chaotic scene."
Police are still working to contact all families of those killed in the crash, who are spread across regional NSW, Melbourne and Queensland.
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Tracy Chapman earlier described a frantic scene for those who arrived.
"Emergency responders ... were able to smash the front windscreen of the bus in order to pull some people out," Ms Chapman said.
Police have begun taking witness statements from survivors.
"They're providing a version of, or witness statement, in terms of what they experienced, and that will assist us with our inquiries and furthering that investigation," Ms Chapman said.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the use of seatbelts would undoubtedly be one of the matters looked at by the coroner.
"Whether they were actually wearing seatbelts or not … certainly all of that will come under scrutiny," she said.
"Again, that will be a matter the coroner will have a look and ultimately, the driver will have to think about that for the rest of his life."
