(Image source from: Gulf News)
A limousine carrying four sisters, other friends, and relatives to a birthday celebration, and at least two pairs of newlyweds have been killed in a crash in New York, according to police.
All 18 people in the limousine died along with two pedestrians in the incident on Saturday afternoon in the town of Schoharie, police confirmed.
As per description by witnesses, the SUV-style limousine shoot across a junction hit another car, and then plow into people in a shop car park.
The cause of the crash is ill-defined.
The victims have not yet been officially named. All those killed were adults, police said.
According to early reports, the car had been taking the group to a wedding reception but later reports said they were traveling to a birthday party.
State police said on Sunday that the passengers in the limousine, described as a 2001 Ford Excursion, would not have been needed to wear seatbelts.
The driver was also killed in the crash, they said.
Bill Waterson, who said he was invited to attend the wedding that the limousine was traveling from, said he could not believe what he had witnessed, describing it as "terrible", the Albany Times Union reported.
A reporter for local news site Spectrum News, Mercedes Williams, tweeted images and footage from the scene of the incident, which took place near a store and cafe on routes 30 and 30A in Schoharie County.
The images show a long line of emergency services vehicles lining the roads, which were closed to traffic.
#HappeningNow On the scene of a terrible accident just off of route 30A in Schoharie. Looks like one car is crashed in ditch. Emergency crews are very active. pic.twitter.com/ydX6cdOKBE
— Mercedes Williams (@MercedesTVnews) October 6, 2018
#BREAKING: State Police: 20 confirmed fatalities in crash involving limousine. https://t.co/OOIA4pVwhg pic.twitter.com/AupXzmmCzR
— CBS 6 Albany - WRGB (@CBS6Albany) October 7, 2018
Eyewitnesses said that a number of people entering and leaving the store were hit in Saturday's incident, local media report.
"I heard this loud bang, I saw a lot of people here at the Apple Barrel (store and cafe) out in the parking lot. Then I heard screaming," said Bridey Finnagen, who lives nearby.
New York State Police Cpt Richard O'Brien said on Sunday that the investigation was still in its early stages, adding that several separate police units were involved, including an identification unit and a drone team.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted that it was also sending a team of investigators to the site of the crash.
NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt later told a press conference that it was "one of the biggest losses of life we've seen", adding that it was the most deadly transportation accident since 2009.
Authorities have said they expect investigators to be at the scene for at least five days.
Police said that a phone line had been set up to help assist relatives of the victims.
The location of the crossroad is said to be in a hilly region and local authorities had only recently prohibited sizable trucks from using parts of the route.
-Sowmya Sangam
