'We're just waiting on bated breath, hoping it's not someone you know.'

Maitland man Brett Button, the driver of the bus, operated by Linq Buslines, was charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and will face Cessnock Local Court on Tuesday.

The bus was carrying the group back to Singleton following the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell at Wandin Valley Estate around 11:30pm on Sunday, when it rolled at a Wine Country Drive roundabout, near the Hunter Expressway.

The impacts have been devastating.

The event has sent waves of shock through tight-knit town of Singleton which will take a "very long time" to recover, one resident said.

"We're just waiting on bated breath, hoping it's not someone you know," another resident said.

Tributes have been poured out across the country, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling it a "devastating loss".

"Thank you to all the first responders who rushed to the scene, and those continuing to assist and care for those affected by this tragedy," he said.

Premier Chris Minns visited the crash site and John Hunter Hospital, where many of the survivors have been taken. Others were airlifted to Sydney.

Mr Minns described the incident as "a terrible, terrible event in the history of NSW".

For the victims' families and emergency services, the hardship has only just begun.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman said investigators were continuing to work with families to identify the dead but "it will take some time".

Family members wait, hour-by-hour, for more news of loved ones.

A distraught man told media at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle that his "son was still under the bus" at 3pm on Monday.

First responders are facing devastating impacts from the "frantic scene" in a "tragic set of circumstances", Ms Chapman said.

"I think without question very difficult circumstances for any of the responders," she said.

Cessnock City Council mayor Jay Suvaal said government would support victims, their loved ones and responders.

"Our first responders do amazing work, and for them to turn up to such a horrific scene, we thank them and we will support them," Mr Suvaal said.

It is understood bodies were unable to be removed from the crash site until a crane could lift the commercial-sized bus.

Ms Chapman would not comment on whether speed was a factor in the crash.

Two previous crashes have occurred at the site of the tragedy, both in 2021. Both were in darkness and one resulted in serious injury.

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