Seven killed in tour bus crash near Yellowstone National Park

A collision betwixt a circuit autobus and a motortruck adjacent Yellowstone National Park killed 7 radical and injured 8 others connected Thursday.

Police were alerted to the clang astatine 19:15 section clip (02:15 GMT), erstwhile a Chevy pickup motortruck and a van carrying 14 tourists collided connected a road successful eastbound Idaho, authorities constabulary said.

Both vehicles caught fire. The operator of the motortruck and six of the passengers successful the van died.

Police are inactive investigating the cause. The road wherever the clang took spot leads into the park, which is present entering its highest tourer season.

A photograph from a passerby shows fume billowing and flames adjacent the crumpled hood of the truck.

The witnesser who took the photo, section nonmigratory Roger Merrill, told the BBC's US spouse CBS News helium was connected his mode location erstwhile helium saw the country unfolding.

Both vehicles were connected fire, helium said, and bystanders were trying to attraction for the survivors connected the broadside of the highway.

"It is simply a precise unsafe road due to the fact that it leads to the main entranceway of Yellowstone National Park," helium said. "It's highly busy."

The road was closed for 7 hours portion exigency teams treated victims and cleared the clang site, astir 16 miles from Yellowstone's entrance.

Police said the section coroner's bureau volition merchandise the names of the dormant aft household members person been notified.

Yellowstone, the US's oldest nationalist park, covers astir 3,500 sq miles successful 3 states, including Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

It draws an mean of 4 cardinal tourists each year, with the bulk of visitors coming betwixt May and September, according to the National Park Service.