Hunter Valley wedding bus crash: Nine members of Warrandyte cricket club injured in wedding tragedy

Nine members of the same cricket club and their partners were among those injured in a tragic bus crash on their way home from a wedding in NSW’s Hunter Valley.

Warrandyte Cricket Club president Royce Jaksic said all their players who attended the ceremony on Sunday night have now been registered.

Players and their families were at the wedding to celebrate their former teammate Mitchell Gaffney and his bride, Madeleine Edsell.

Mr Jaksic said: ‘I think one of them has a broken jaw, a few have broken collarbones.

“One lady may have a broken back, but all our people are numbered.”

Emergency services are still working to identify the victims. So far, 10 guests have been pronounced dead and 21 others remain in hospital. At least one is in critical condition.

Mr. Gaffney joined the Singleton Roosters Aussie Rules football club. Obviously, teammates from that club were also on the shuttle

The 58-year-old bus driver is under arrest and the police expect to file a report later today

“The information is a little sketchy, but we’re pretty confident that all of our people are fine, which is great,” Mr Jaksic said. ‘Of course not for the over-10s who lost their lives. It’s a tragedy.’

In addition to the players who attended, there were about five women who joined their partners for the trip.

“We probably had 13 or 14 people on the bus out of 37, for that to be the case is just a blessing. Someone took care of them,’ Mr Jaksic said.

Mr Gaffney was a much loved member of the cricket club during his junior and senior playing years, before moving to NSW.

There he and Mrs. Edsell both joined Singleton Roosters Aussie Rules football club. Obviously, teammates from that club were also on the shuttle.

The bus was traveling on Wine Country Drive in Greta, 12 km away, on its way home from the wedding around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Local reporter Alex Tigani was among those who suffered minor injuries in the crash. He knows the couple through the AFL club and was asked to be their emcee for their special day.

He is now recovering at John Hunter Hospital.

His mother, Loretta, told the Herald Sun he is being checked for a concussion after being taken to the hospital covered in blood by his mates.

The couple got married on the pontoon overlooking a lake as the sun shone, before all the guests gathered for a group photo in the gardens

“He was very emotional because he saw many of his mates die. It’s a small town, so everyone knows each other,” she said.

“He said it looked like a war scene, it was devastating.”

Mr. Tigani reportedly sat on the right side of the bus, while those most affected sat on the left – as the bus rolled.

Some of the victims are reportedly still trapped as emergency services attempt to turn the bus right side up.

Photos from the reception show the newlyweds cutting their cake while a live band plays in the background and Mr. Tigani addresses the audience.

The couple tied the knot on Sunday afternoon at Wandin Valley Estate in the Hunter Valley.

The bride arrived at the ceremony in a restored 1952 Beetle convertible that her father had worked on to get it ready in time for the wedding.

The bus remains on its side, but it is believed that a crane will lift it today

The bus remains on its side, but it is believed that a crane will lift it today

Photos from the reception show the newlyweds cutting their cake while a live band plays in the background and Tigani addresses the audience

The bus driver, a 58-year-old man, was taken to hospital under police guard for an examination. He is currently under arrest at Cessnock police station and police say charges are pending.

Locals of the “close-knit community” are among the victims, confirmed the region’s federal MP Daniel Repacholi.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement from Parliament House on Monday morning, describing the tragedy as “so cruel and unfair.”

“We all know the joy of going to a wedding, a chance to celebrate dear friends and family. They are some of the happiest times you can have. It is so cruel, so sad and so unfair that such a joyful day ends in such a beautiful place with such a terrible loss of life and injury,” he said.

“People rent a bus for weddings to keep their guests safe and that just makes this tragedy more unimaginable.”

The 39-passenger bus was en route from the Wandin Estate winery wedding venue in the Hunter Valley wine region (pictured) when it rolled into a roundabout currently under construction on Wine Country Drive near the Hunter Expressway exit in Greta at 11:30 a.m. , 12 km away. hours on Sunday

10 of their guests were tragically killed when the shuttle bus they were traveling in rolled over on Wine Country Drive in Greta, 7 miles away, on their way home from the wedding. Another 25 people were taken to hospital for treatment