HOCKEY TEAM BUS COLLIDES WITH SEMI
Police confirm fatalities in Sask. highway crash
Rescue efforts were underway on a Saskatchewan highway Friday night after a semi collided with a passenger bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team.
Nipawin RCMP said there are fatalities and a number of injuries, but were unable to confirm how many.
The collision happened Friday afternoon on Highway 35 about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale, near the junction of Highway 335, at what’s known as the Armley Corner. The team was en route to Nipawin for Game 5 of its SJHL semifinal series against the Nipawin Hawks.
Darren Opp, president of the Hawks, said a semi Tboned the Humboldt players’ bus.
“It’s a horrible accident, my God,” he said. “It’s very, very bad.”
Opp said the coaching staff and players from the Hawks are waiting to help.
“They are sitting in the church just waiting to hear any good news,” he said. “I’ve got 50 phone calls at least saying what do you want?
“There’s uncles and moms and dads waiting to hear whether their sons and nephews are OK.
“It’s terrible. It’s absolutely terrible.”
Myles Shumlanski, father of Broncos player Nick Shumlanski, said the crash happened at 4:45 p.m. He got a call from his son and they picked him up.
“It’s only a quarter-mile from our house,” he said.
“There are casualties and it’s very bad. We were at the scene helping,” Shumlanski said.
“It was a disaster,” he said. “We had a crane lifting the bus.”
Shumlanski said that his son is being flown to Saskatoon after receiving treatment at a hospital in Tisdale.
Pastor Jordan Gadsby at the Apostolic Church in Nipawin welcomed any families to come to the church at 109 Fourth Avenue East.
“We just opened our building here with food and drinks … they can come if they need somewhere to go or someone to talk to,” he said.
“There’s not a lot of confirmed information at this point. Families are just waiting to hear from their kids. “There’s a lot of tears.” In Humboldt, Mayor Rob Muench said a mobile crisis centre had been set up at the city’s Uniplex Convention Centre. Muench said the centre had already started filling up with people, and that counsellors were being made available.
“We’re asking people to come down to the Uniplex, Jubilee Hall or the Elgar Peterson Arena just to show some support for the community and each other,” Muench said.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe posted a statement on Facebook, saying, “Words cannot describe the loss that we feel tonight.”
The news is difficult to comprehend, he said.
“To the City of Humboldt, the entire Broncos organization, and the families impacted by this tragedy, please know you are in Saskatchewan’s hearts.
“From a grieving province, thank you to every one of the first responders and medical professionals for your courageous response under the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
“Tonight, we all must pray for these families.”
The WHL tweeted from its official Twitter page that it was keeping the Humboldt Broncos in its thoughts: “Hockey is family.”
Four members of the Swift Current Broncos were killed in a bus crash in Saskatchewan in 1986.
Former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, who was one of the players on the bus in 1986, also sent a message of support.
“Sending all my thoughts and prayers to those impacted with the @HumboltBroncos bus crash.”
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior A hockey league under Hockey Canada, which is part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It’s open to North American-born players between the age of 16 and 20.
WE ALL MUST PRAY FOR THESE FAMILIES.