A tour bus slid off Colorado Highway 145 at the top of Lizard Head Pass Saturday evening, stranding passengers for several hours.
There were about 45 elderly passengers on board headed for Telluride, but no one was injured, the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
Emergency responders are working to get passengers off the bus and to a safe holding place until another bus can pick them up, said Trooper Alisha Danko with the Colorado State Patrol. A few passengers got rides to Telluride with emergency responders, and a shuttle was en route about 8:30 to pick up more, according to emergency radio traffic.
The bus was using chains, but the pass was closed at the time for avalanche control. It’s unclear when the tour bus headed up the pass and why it was there at that time.
The exhaust of the bus is buried in a snowbank, and it is difficult to keep the engines and cabin heat running, Danko said in an email.
The bus remained stuck as of 8:30 p.m.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
