Fourteen Die In Bus Crash At Japanese Ski Resort

The skiers, many in their teens or early 20s, were asleep when the accident happened just before dawn in the resort town of Karuizawa.

The bus is lifted off the verge by a crane

"I heard people screaming: 'Oh no, oh no' and then it hit the guard rail,'" one student told broadcaster NHK.

"Injured people were everywhere. I had to cover my eyes at the scene."

One 19-year-old survivor was knocked unconscious.

He told the broadcaster: "The bus was swaying right and left at massive speed. It was turning in an abnormal manner."

The next thing he was aware was the carnage after the smash.

"Someone woke me up and I saw a number of people being carried on stretchers. I feel very sad and I still can't imagine it was real."

TV footage showed the wrecked vehicle on its side in woodland, several metres (yards) from the crash barrier through which it had smashed.

The roads were clear of ice and snow at the time so attention has turned to the driver of the overnight bus, which was travelling from Tokyo to the ski fields of central Japan - there have been a number of accidents caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

Rules involving late-night and long-distance driving have been tightened since April 2012 when seven people died as a bus hit a wall when the driver dozed off at the wheel.