SYDNEY, June 5 — A school bus driver died Monday when his vehicle collided with two camels and plunged down an embankment in eastern Australia.

The man, in his 40s, was driving the bus alone in the early hours when he struck the animals on a road in Nankin, a rural area of Queensland state, police said.

Initial investigations indicated the school bus “struck two camels and went down an embankment” Queensland police said in a statement.

The driver “sustained critical injuries and died at the scene”, it said. “The two camels also died as a result of the incident.”

Camel breeder John Richardson told national broadcaster ABC that police had informed him his animals were involved in the collision and he was “devastated” for the driver’s family.

Richardson said he had discovered a gate on his camel enclosure that had come off its hinges. — AFP