“Insensitive to the point of ghoulish”: ABC slammed over ‘intrusive’ interview with bus crash saviours
An ABC interview with two bystanders who rushed to help injured children trapped in a horrifying Melbourne bus crash has been blasted by viewers as “insensitive” and “ghoulish”.
On May 17, a school bus full of 45 children was hit from behind by a truck, leading it to overturn, and trapping several children inside at the Eynesbury intersection in Melbourne’s west.
Victorian tradesmen Cameron Chalmers and Dean Eastway were heading home from work when they witnessed the accident, they shared their heartbreaking experience with reported Sarah Ferguson on an episode of 7.30.
The interview came after Royal Children’s Hospital chief executive Bernadette McDonald gave a chilling update to the media the following day, revealing a number of children had “partial” amputations of arms and one underwent a “complete amputation” due to the severity of their injuries.
“We ripped the sunroofs off and found all these kids in the bus. That was horrible,” Mr Chalmers told 7.30.
“The kids were screaming and there was smoke and dust. And we just started pulling out as many kids as we could out of those sunroofs.”
Eastway noted the children were “obviously terrified, they were trapped and yelling out, ‘I don’t want to be in a bus again. Where’s Mum?’ All sorts of stuff, and there were all sorts of injuries. It was just terrible.”
Mr Chalmers estimated he and Mr Eastwood had rescued around 30 children from the wreckage and began helping those who remained trapped inside the bus.
“We just kept talking to them and held their hands and just looked after them,” he said.
“We sat there and we asked them their names … and just tried to keep them calm, just talking to them and reassuring them,” Mr Eastway added.
Both men stayed on the scene until all children were freed, and said the reality of the traumatic incident was hard to process.
However, social media users were quick to slam the interview, accusing the ABC of acting insensitively by airing the interview and Ferguson for her rapid-fire questioning and “seeming lack of empathy”, including her asking for details about individual children, like their names and state of their condition.
“The bus crash looked horrific and I’m sad for all involved. I’m also disturbed by this interview with Sarah Ferguson and the men who assisted … How is this OK?” one person wrote on Twitter.
Another added, “The two rescuers from the Victorian bus crash are so dignified and respectful in responding to the insensitive and highly intrusive questioning by Sarah Ferguson … even asking them to describe the individual children they rescued. It’s unethical and wrong.”
“The men who helped at the bus crash scene are heroes. They deserve more respect than to be asked ongoing inconsiderate, unfeeling questions about the kids, only to relive their trauma for Sarah Ferguson,” one wrote.
Another chimed in, “I have great respect for Sarah Ferguson – and also, given the gravity of the bus crash incident, it was in poor taste to seek details so intrusive and sensitive of the children’s trauma.
“The rescuers, indeed heroes, are likely traumatised themselves. Dismayed, ABC.”
One more wrote, “The two men did a great job. Your interview of them was belaboured and insensitive to the point of ghoulish.”
While another said, “#abc730 trying to get victims names in the bus crash is unforgivable Sarah Ferguson!”
Image credit: ABC 7.30