Safety concerns have been raised around a type of bus after a second crash in less than a week.
Nineteen people were on board a 1991 Mitsubishi Fuso bus when it careened off State Highway One near Palmerston North yesterday.
Ngai Te Rangi iwi members were today recovering in marae, motels and hospital across the lower North Island after the bus ended up in a ditch.
The tribe had been protesting at a neighbouring tribe's Treaty deal in Wellington yesterday.
The crash came less than a week after a Fuso bus crash on Mt Ruapehu in which an 11-year-old girl, Hannah Francis, died and 20 people were injured last weekend.
Ngai Te Rangi only purchased the bus involved in yesterday's crash two days beforehand.
"They're quite prevalent. A lot of people will tell you that these buses are ultra reliable," Paora Stanley, Te Runanga O Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust.
The bus had more than 400,000 kilometres on the clock and passed it's Certificate of Fitness last month.
Police and the New Zealand Transport Authority are investigating both crashes.
The agency said it had no prior safety concerns around the Mitsubishi Fuso.
However the results of investigations into both crashes will dictate if the wider use of them on New Zealand roads needs addressing.
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