The bus, Lady Analofa, was leaving Apia, heading for Lalomanu yesterday afternoon with 30 people onboard when it was forced to swerve, causing it to roll.
Radio Polynesia’s station manager, Corey Keil, says 20 others were injured in the smash and police are trying to track down the driver who fled the scene.
An eyewitness, Jason Tamali'i told the Samoa Observer the scene was "unbelievable".
"I could tell the bus had rolled over because the wheels were still spinning when I got there," he says.
"I started to pull people from under the bus because they were screaming. A lot of people died in the accident but we got most of the people out."
Another witness, Vailua Lave, said a 10-year-old girl had survived, but lost her right arm.
"We pulled her out but she had no arm, there was just skin and a hole," he said.
Tasi Uta, visiting Samoa from New Zealand, came across the wreckage on his way from Aleipata, surveying damage from the tsunami.
"We got out of our cars to see if we could help and saw people squashed under the bus; looked like they were all dead," he told the Samoa Observer.
Mr Uta said he saw a woman caught under the window of the bus was dead, but was holding a baby in her arms which was still alive.
The crash comes two months after Samoa switched from driving on the right, to driving on the left-hand side of the road.
It is a tough time for the small island nation; the tragedy comes as the country struggles to recover from the devastating tsunami in October.
3 News/RadioLIVE
source: newshub archive
