Gunnedah South Public School students head home after Year 6 excursion bus crashed in Perisher after snow day

Year 6 students from Gunnedah South Public School had been out for a day on the snow on Monday when their bus slid down a five-metre embankment on Kosciuszko Road about 5:30pm.

Multiple NSW Ambulance crews rushed to the scene.

Paramedics treated four children for minor injuries, as well as a man in his 50s and two women aged in their 20s and 30s.

The seven passengers were taken to Cooma hospital and all were in a stable condition.

Two other children were assessed by paramedics but did not need to be taken to hospital.

A second bus - with other members of the Gunnedah South Public School group on board - was not involved in the crash.

Parent Rebecca Ryan had a child on the bus at the time and said the school had been communicating with families.

"I understand the teachers and the children are in good spirits," she told the Leader.

"Through the school's normal communication channels, we were alerted last night that there had been an accident.

"We were told that the children were safe and there had been some minor injuries sustained."

It's understood families with injured loved ones were contacted ahead of the alert.

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Ms Ryan said the Year 6 group left Gunnedah at 6am on Sunday, had a snow day on Monday, and was due to head to Canberra today for the rest of their excursion.

She said the kids and teachers were on their way home on Tuesday instead.

"The school is now keeping us up-to-date as the children head back home to Gunnedah," she said.

"The communication has been really excellent."

Ambulance NSW Inspector Jennifer Barker said it would have been a scary experience, but praised everyone for keeping calm.

"We arrived to find a bus that had come off the road and gone down an embankment, with multiple patients requiring treatment," she said.

"This would have been a really scary experience for everyone involved, especially the children, but everyone kept calm while we assessed and treated those who were injured."

She said there was a major emergency response to the bus crash, with ambulance crews rushing to help from across the region, including Perisher Valley, Jindabyne and Cooma.

"Everyone did an excellent job in challenging conditions, which included snow, low light and very low temperatures," she said.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews worked alongside paramedics, the Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service during the operation.

The driver and passengers were rescued using a ladder slide and 'hand over hand' techniques to pull them up the steep incline of the 5m bank.

"FRNSW helped establish a triage system to prioritise those needing treatment onsite or in hospital," a spokesperson said.

"A replacement bus was also arranged to quickly remove the remaining people from the harsh conditions including sub-zero temperatures and light snowfalls."

The bus remained at the scene overnight as investigations were carried out.

It is expected it will be extracted and towed from the scene this afternoon.

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