Tongan bus crash victims

The bus carrying 54 people crashed down a 100m bank off State Highway 2 in the Whareratas on Christmas Eve.

Three passengers, Sione Taumalolo, 11, Talita Moimoi, 33, and Leotisia Malakai, 55, lost their lives.

The bus contained teenage members of a touring band from Mailefihi Siu’ilikutapu College in Tonga, along with their teachers and supporters, travelling to Gisborne for a Christmas Day performance.

Two of the people hospitalised after the crash, Scott Taufa’ao, in his 30s, and Tevita Lokotui, 18, have been in Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

RNZ reports fifty-three people were on the bus when it plunged down a steep bank killing Sione Taumololo, 11, and Talita Fifita, 33.

The pair were part of a group of school students and band members who were in New Zealand on a four-week fundraising tour.

Family, friends and members of the wider Tongan community were among those who were at the memorial service at the Tongan Methodist Church in Grey Lynn.

Many of those who were on the bus when it crashed were also there, and a number of them had visible injuries.