Utah Tour Bus Crash Kills 4 and Injures Dozens

At least four people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a tour bus crash in rural Utah on Friday afternoon, an official said.

The bus was headed east on Route 12 near Bryce Canyon National Park, about 270 miles south of Salt Lake City, when it ran off the road and rolled into the guardrail at about 11:35 a.m., the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.

A total of 30 people, including the driver, were on board, said Denise Dastrup, the office’s public information officer. Numerous ambulances from surrounding areas descended on the scene and three medical evacuation helicopters also responded.

Ms. Dastrup added that 26 patients were being transported to numerous hospitals. The Utah Highway Patrol said on Twitter that 12 to 15 people were critically injured and 10 others had “minor to serious injuries.”

At Garfield Memorial Hospital, three patients were in critical condition, 11 were serious and three were fair, said Amber Matthew, an administrative assistant at the hospital.

Two patients were taken to Kane County Hospital in Kanab, Utah, about 75 miles from the crash scene, but their conditions were unavailable. Information on the conditions of the other patients at other hospitals was not immediately available.

The bus was carrying Chinese-speaking tourists, the Utah Highway Patrol said on Twitter. Its point of origin and destination were not immediately clear, and information about the operator of the bus was not immediately available.

Peter Densmore, a spokesman for the Bryce Canyon National Park, said the crash happened about seven miles west of the park’s entrance.

He said Route 12 is a major east-west thoroughfare used by visitors and local residents alike. He described that stretch of road as flat and straight with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour.

The park, which drew 2.6 million visitors last year, is known for its red-rock scenery, rock spires known as hoodoos and “horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau,” according to its website.