Photograph: RNZ/Patrice Allen

The four-season worker from Tonga spent the night in the hospital after the incident. The bus taking them to their job in Hawke’s Bay crashed near Rotorua.

12 people were injured in the accident that occurred on Sunday morning. They were part of a group of 30 seasonal workers who went on an apple thinning job at Mr Apple’s orchard in Hawke’s Bay.

As of Monday, four of the injured were still in hospital and their condition was stated to be stable.

This was the second serious accident involving seasonal workers in the last three months.

In August, Three Samoan seasonal workers killed on Auckland State Highway 1 A truck had a flat tire and hit three other vehicles.

Mr Apple spokesman Gary Jones said: Morning Report The company was notified of the “tragedy” early Sunday.

He said the injured were taken to three different hospitals and a Tongan liaison officer was sent to the site with orchard staff to assist.

Most seasonal workers had arrived in Hawke’s Bay on Sunday night and the company was providing as much support as possible to RSE workers.

Jones said Mr. Apple employs about 1,200 seasonal workers each year, and Tongan workers have been with the company for an average of five years.

“We have very good connections with our church communities in Hawke’s Bay; faith is very important to this group.”

The company will also provide counselors to those affected by the accident.

“We will take things slowly with the workers and evaluate what they want to make sure we wrap the arms of the community around them and take care of them the best we can.”

Workers were supposed to start thinning apples this week, but the company will discuss with them the next steps following the accident and will “exercise an abundance of caution in this area.”

Jones could not provide further details about the crash.

Sign up for the daily newsletter Ngā Pitopito Kōrero Curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.