HEGINS, Pa. — State police in Schuylkill County want to know what led to the bus crash that sent more than 30 people to hospitals.
The bus, filled with young people, barreled off Interstate 81, not far from the Lebanon County line. Police are looking into what happened.
This all started around 2:30 Sunday afternoon.
A bus filled with high school students and volunteer leaders from LCBC Church in Lancaster County went out of control, running off I-81 in Frailey Township.
The bus traveled off the Interstate exit ramp and through Route 25 before striking an embankment and stopping in a wooded area.
Officials with LCBC church confirmed the people on the bus were returning from the Manheim campus from a student ministry fall retreat.
Tremont's fire chief talked about the challenge of getting all those injured people out of the bus.
"When something like this happens, it's people shaking all around the bus. It takes some time to get in and get people out of the situation. The guys on the bus did a great job. We took out what we had to take out. Everybody was out and on their way to the hospital pretty quickly," said Chief Brian Eisenacher.
Some of the victims were flown to hospitals. Some went by ambulance. Parents took the rest. State police tell us the injuries are of "varying degrees."
Big numbers were involved in the rescue. The fire chief says about one hundred first responders were here. Firefighters and ambulance crews from Schuylkill, Lebanon, Dauphin, and Northumberland Counties were all called there to help.
One firefighter was also taken to the hospital but is expected to be okay.
Officials say the bus was the only vehicle involved in the crash in Schuylkill County.
That section of Route 25 and the on and off-ramps of Interstate 81 south were closed as crews investigated the wreck.
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