A woman killed in a regional Victoria bus crash when a bus driver lost control of a coach carrying 29 passengers was a popular and hard working member of the bowls community.

Carmel Mitchell, 71, died at the scene of the crash on Saturday afternoon after the coach veered off the road and rolled down an embankment on the Sunraysia Highway near Avoca.

Ballarat District Bowls Division chair Sandra Chapman said Ms Mitchell, mum of three and grandma to seven, had been a member of the bowls club for some time.

“She’s been a valued member of the club,” Ms Chapman said. “She’s very well liked and a good working member with the bowls fraternity.”

The bus, operated by Ballarat Coachlines, was transporting a group of bowls players from Mildura to Ballarat carrying after an annual three-day tournament.

Five people remain in a critical condition, two after being airlifted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne and three to Ballarat Base Hospital.

One person was taken to The Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition with chest injuries, and 12 others were taken to Ballarat and Bendigo, also in a serious condition.

A relief centre was opened at the Avoca Senior Citizens Centre where 15 people were treated for cuts and bruises and monitored for signs of shock.

Ms Chapman said she had talked to members at the Avoca centre who were all shaken by the incident.

“Twelve out of our 24 members are involved, so it’s a significant impact on our membership and on a lot of families,” she said.

“We’re very fortunate seatbelts have been put into buses, otherwise it could have been a lot more tragic.”

The bus driver is the vice-chairman of the Ballarat District Bowls Division.
Police were interviewing passengers on Saturday night.

Police closed the Sunraysia Highway for several hours while investigators and emergency workers picked through the twisted wreckage.

-with AAP and ABC