CANBERRA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Seriously injured Australian tourists will be air-lifted back to Australia for treatment, after a tour bus collided head-on with another vehicle in the tourist hot spot of Vanuatu on Monday evening.
Three children are among 10 seriously injured Australians who were on a P&O cruise ship tour that had stopped in the nation's capital of Port Vila, with some of the Australians reportedly suffering life threatening injuries.
P&O Australia spokesperson David Jones told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Tuesday that the best thing for the injured was to get them back to Australia for medical treatment.
"In terms of the Australian passengers, 12 had significant injuries and 10 of those were at a level where we thought it was best to arrange air ambulance evacuations to Noumea and to Brisbane," Jones told the ABC.
"It's fair to say that the Australian passengers were receiving excellent care in Vanuatu, but this is a very big event for Port Vila, so we thought the best way to deal with the situation was it airlift our guests for specialist care."
A spokesperson for the local bus operator said the decision to airlift the seriously injured out of Port Vila was to "take the pressure off local health services."
An intensive care paramedic, who was at the scene in Port Vila, reported that three Australian children were among the injured, and that an 11-year-old girl had been airlifted to Noumea.
According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the government is providing consular assistance to all Australians involved, however, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is yet to comment on the incident.
Three locals have reportedly been killed in the crash.
