By Mark Morales, Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — Five people were killed and dozens more injured after a tour bus carrying 52 passengers heading back to New York City from Niagara Falls rolled over and crashed into a ditch on the New York State Thruway on Friday afternoon, according to state police.

The passengers ranged in age from 1 to 74 years old and no children were killed, state police said Friday evening, after stating earlier they believed there to be one child fatality.

The accident took place just after 12:20 p.m. along Interstate 90 eastbound near the town of Pembroke, east of Buffalo, New York, and ro?ughly 40 miles east of Niagara Falls, a state police spokesperson said.

Officials believe most of the passengers were not wearing a seat belt, as multiple people were also ejected from the bus, which was heavily damaged in the incident, said New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan. Rescue efforts for trapped passengers continued through the afternoon.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation but mechanical failure as well as operator impairment or intoxication has been ruled out, Major Andre J. Ray, a New York State Police troop commander, said Friday afternoon.

Authorities believe the operator “became distracted, lost control, overcorrected and ended up on the right shoulder there,” said Ray, adding it is too early to say whether any charges will be filed.

At least 30 people were taken to two regional hospitals with a range of injuries from critical to minor, from head and internal injuries and broken bones, while others were deemed medically stable.

Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo received 24 patients, the majority of the victims from the incident, and 20 are actively being treated, it confirmed at a Friday afternoon news conference. “We were able to take care of all patients very quickly,” said Dr. Jennifer Pugh, chief of emergency medicine at the hospital.

Six victims were brought to the University of Rochester Medical Center by air and ground ambulance, said hospital spokesperson Scott Hesel. “Two are being treated for critical injuries and four are medically stable, including one pediatric patient,” he said.

As the investigation unfolds, it’s not yet clear why the crash took place, O’Callaghan said, but he added authorities have a “good idea” of what caused the bus to roll over after losing control, without offering further details.

The bus was driving at full speed and did not hit any other vehicles, but lost control from the median onward, O’Callaghan said.

Helicopters, ambulances and law enforcement swarmed the crash site, where the bus was seen on its side with many people gathered around it.

Translators assisted police at the scene with the investigation, as most of the passengers were Indian, Chinese or Filipino, he said at a news conference.

A list of the passengers provided by the bus company confirmed there were 54 people on board, including the driver and another tour company employee, police said in a statement.

“Several witnesses observed the bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police said in a news release.

The state’s department of transportation is trying to help people get off the interstate as some remain stranded due to the incident, O’Callaghan said. The westbound lanes of the Thruway have been reopened to traffic and the eastbound lanes remain closed near the crash site, state police say.

“It’s a very volatile scene. We have vehicles going the wrong way on the 90,” he said, describing the area as “highly traveled.”

The driver is “alive and well” and working with authorities, O’Callaghan said, and some victims were taken to the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and said first responders are “working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved” in a post on X.

CNN has contacted the US embassies for the Philippines, China and India for comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Nic F. Anderson and Mark Morales contributed to this report.