A SCHOOL field trip turned into a horror smash when a bus packed with pupils was caught in a huge multi-vehicle crash, leaving two children dead and at least seven others injured.

The nightmare unfolded just before noon on Highway 70 in Carroll County, Tennessee, when the school bus collided with a dump truck and a Chevrolet Trailblazer.

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A school bus carrying 25 students and five adults crashed with two other vehiclesCredit: WSMV
 

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Emergency responders at the scene of the fatal school bus crash on FridayCredit: AP
 

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Two children died and at least seven people were injured in the multi-vehicle crashCredit: AP
Shocking images from the scene showed the yellow school bus mangled and partially off the road, with part of it lifted into the air after the impact.

The bus was carrying 25 students and five adults from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville on a trip to Jackson when disaster struck.

Two students were pronounced dead at the scene.

At least seven others were airlifted to hospitals, with emergency crews scrambling helicopters to rush the injured to trauma centres in Nashville and Memphis.

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Maj. Travis Plotzer, of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said the full horror of the crash was still being pieced together.

“The details of the crash are still ongoing. We’re still trying to sort through those details,” he told reporters.

He added that early indications suggested the state transportation department dump truck “did not contribute to the crash itself”.

Plotzer described the devastating incident as “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

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Four children were flown to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and were said to be in stable condition.

Another 19 people were taken to a nearby hospital, assessed and later released.

Seven helicopters were deployed in the massive emergency response as first responders flooded the crash site.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said: “We are heartbroken over the loss of life.”

Mayor Wes Golden added: “This is a bad day in Montgomery County. Prayer is absolutely needed right now.”

The school’s principal Karen Miller called the tragedy “unimaginable” in a message to parents.

“Please continue to pray with us for our students, families, faculty, and staff,” she wrote.

“I am grateful for the strength of our Kenwood community, and I trust we will all support each other during this difficult time.”

Counsellors will be made available to grieving students when they return to school.

The cause of the crash is now under investigation.