LOXLEY, AL (RNN) – One person is dead and another in critical condition after a bus carrying high school band members to Texas from Disney World, crashed into a ravine on the Alabama-Florida line Tuesday.
Channelview Independent School District, which is located east of Houston, has confirmed band students from their Channelview High School were on the bus to Houston after a spring break trip.
An Alabama state trooper tells the Associated Press that the driver was killed in the crash.
The bus plummeted into the 50-foot ravine around 6 a.m. CT and authorities believe about 45 people were on the charter bus bound for Houston. WKRG-TV reported around 40 people suffered injuries - five of which were serious.
Baldwin County Sheriff Hoss Mack confirmed the death, and Major Anthony Lowery said the bus ran off the highway. WALA said that first responders repelled into the ravine to rescue passengers. Some victims were lifted up by ropes, some were carried out by deputies.
First responders had to use the jaws of life to rescue passengers. The last passenger - a student - was rescued at about 9 a.m. CT.
KPRC in Houston reports that First Class Tours owns the bus, and safety records indicate the company has had four crashes in the last two years.
Jesus Tejada captured the aftermath of the accident in a Facebook video which shows the bus wreckage on it's side in the ravine.
Interstate 10 was shut down in both directions about 20 miles east of Mobile, AL, during the time helicopters transported the injured to about 10 area hospitals. The interstate is expected to be closed until noon CT.
Around 20 patients went to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, FL, while others were taken to hospitals in Baldwin County, including USA Medical Center in Mobile.
A second bus carrying students from the Disney trip is continuing on to Houston.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement saying that he and his wife Cecilia are heartbroken by the news.
"I pray for a speedy recovery for all those injured, and I am especially grateful for the heroic actions of the Alabama first responders that undoubtedly helped save lives today. Texas is prepared to offer any assistance necessary as we rally around the entire Channelview High School community during this difficult time," he said in the statement.
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