Carnage as bus cut in half by metal pole

THIRTEEN people died yesterday when a New York tour bus returning from a casino flipped onto its side on a major highway and was sliced in half by a road sign support pole.

The driver, who survived, told police he lost control after being clipped by a lorry trailer. Police began a hunt for the truck, which did not stop after the crash.

The wreck left a scene of carnage in the New York borough of the Bronx for hours while emergency workers attended to critically injured survivors and removed bodies.

The bus, operated by the charter company World Wide Tours, was headed to Manhattan's Chinatown neighbourhood carrying a full load of passengers returning from a casino in Connecticut.

According to the driver, the bus was struck from behind as it entered the city at about 5.30am. The bus started to swerve, then toppled and crashed into the support post for a highway exit sign.

The pole smashed through the windscreen of the bus, then sheared the vehicle from front to back along the window line, cutting like a knife through the seating area and peeling the roof off all the way to the back tyres.

Police and fire officials say that the bus was carrying at least 31 passengers, who are believed to be Chinese tourists.

In addition to the fatalities, six passengers were critically injured, and 19 others were being treated at hospitals in the nearby area.