Canada police rush to identify 15 victims of deadly highway collision
Police in the Canadian province of Manitoba are trying to identify the 15 people killed when a truck and a bus carrying mostly elderly people collided in one of the country’s worst recent road crashes.
Flags at the legislative building flew at half-mast to mark the victims of Thursday’s collision near the town of Carberry in south-western Manitoba, 170km (105 miles) west of Winnipeg.
The small white bus carrying 25 mostly elderly people had been heading to a casino when the accident happened. It was left burnt to a shell.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the province of Manitoba said 15 people had been killed in the crash and 10 others taken to hospitals with injuries.
Six of the survivors were listed in critical condition; the remaining four were mostly suffering from head injuries and broken bones.
“This is an elderly cohort of patients, so recoveries will be long and, of course, can be complicated,” Dr. Shawn Young, chief operating officer of Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, told a news conference.
The victims were from the town of Dauphin, about 175km (109 miles) north of Carberry. The mayor of Dauphin, David Bosiak, said: “It’s tremendously difficult today for sure,” given that no one knew who had been on the bus.
“There’s just a sense of foreboding for everybody concerned,” he told the CBC. “We don’t know what to do.”
Ron Bretecher, whose parents were on the bus, told reporters his mother had survived the crash but his father was still unaccounted for.
“[My] family’s just basically waiting for word … It’s just very difficult,” he said.
The bus, heading south, was crossing the Trans-Canada highway when it collided with the truck, which was traveling east. The drivers of both vehicles survived and are currently in hospital.
Nirmesh Vadera told the CBC he had been working at a nearby cafe when he went outside and saw a vehicle engulfed in flames.
“The fire was about 10 to 15ft high and the smoke was almost 20, 30ft high,” Vadera said.
The RCMP’s major crime services has now taken over the investigation.
The crash was the worst in Canada since 16 people died in April 2018 after a truck hit a bus transporting a junior hockey team on a rural road in neighboring Saskatchewan.
The trucker Caroline Bleackley passed through the intersections of two highways around noon when she spotted the scene of the collision.
“I have seen collisions before, but not like this, not of this magnitude,” she told the Winnipeg Free Press. “There was a lot of damage … It was pretty sad to see.”
The head of the Day & Ross trucking company, whose truck was involved in the crash, said they were heartbroken by the tragic news.
“The thoughts of the entire Day & Ross team are with those who have lost loved ones in this terrible incident, and we are holding out hope that those injured will recover,” the company’s CEO, William Doherty, said in a statement. “We will fully cooperate with the investigation and offer any assistance and support that we can.”
Political leaders issued statements of condolence.
“Our hearts are broken, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all the lives impacted by the horrific and devastating tragedy near the town of Carberry,” Manitoba’s premier, Heather Stefanson, said in a statement. Flags at the province’s legislative building will be lowered to halfmast.
The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, tweeted: “My heart is broken to hear of the victims in the horrific crash near Carberry, Manitoba earlier today.”
The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said: “The news from Carberry, Manitoba, is incredibly tragic. I’m sending my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones today, and I’m keeping the injured in my thoughts. I cannot imagine the pain those affected are feeling – but Canadians are here for you.”