Three in critical condition after B.C. bus crash; 16 in hospital

PRINCE GEORGE — A bus carrying workers to a sawmill crashed Thursday afternoon north of Prince George, sending 16 people to hospital, three of them in critical condition.

B.C. Emergency Health Services said one person was in serious condition and 12 others were stable.

Sixteen others were uninjured and taken back to Prince George by bus, said Libby Brown of EHS.

Cpl. Craig Douglass of Prince George RCMP said the single-vehicle crash happened on Highway 97, near Mitchell Road, about 3:45 p.m. Road conditions were slippery at the time, he said.

Forest products company Canfor had chartered the bus to transport employees from Prince George to its Polar Sawmill.

“The accident is currently under investigation by the local authorities,” Canfor spokeswoman Michelle Ward said. “Our focus is on supporting our injured employees and their families.”

Eryn Collins, a spokeswoman for Northern Health, said the injured were taken to the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia in Prince George.

Drive B.C., the provincial government’s road advisory service, said Highway 97 was limited to single-lane alternating traffic Thursday night because of the crash, which occurred about 22 kilometres north of Prince George.