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23 June 2023
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At least 15 killed in Canada highway crash after truck hits bus, which caught fire, in Manitoba
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At least 15 people were killed in the Canadian prairie province of Manitoba on Thursday, 15 June 2023, after a semi-trailer truck hit a small bus that was carrying a group of mainly elderly people, police said. The crash is one of the most lethal road accidents in recent Canadian history. "We've been able to establish that at least 15 people have been confirmed deceased as a result of this collision," said Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill, who commands the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The bus was on fire in the grass on the side of the road. First responders were trying to get people out of the burning vehicle. Witnesses recounted rescue workers frantically pulling people from the burning bus near a partially jack-knifed semi-trailer truck, its front end crumpled and smashed, amid broken glass, a large bumper and what appeared to be a walker.
The injured suffered mainly head and orthopaedic injuries, RCMP said and both drivers survived.
Officials said 12 ambulances responded along with air support to the crash, which occurred in clear weather conditions at about noon at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, just north of the town of Carberry. Carberry is 170 kilometres west of Winnipeg and about halfway between Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan boundary.
RCMP Supt Rob Lasson said it appears the bus, carrying 25 people from Dauphin and the surrounding area, was crossing the Trans-Canada, heading south, when it was struck. “The bus had already crossed the westbound lanes and was crossing the eastbound lanes when it was struck by the semi,” said Lasson.
Hill said that "sadly, this is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness." The bus had been carrying about 25 people, most of them elderly, he said.
Ten other people were being treated in hospital. Police said the drivers of both vehicles were alive and declined to say who might have been responsible for the crash.
The bus passengers had been on their way to a casino in Carberry, said a casino spokesperson. Media reports initially identified the vehicle as a van rather than a bus. They said it was operated by Handi-Transit, which transports the elderly and those with disabilities.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showed a still photo of a white minivan-sized vehicle that had been burned out. It also showed a picture of a blue truck with a smashed-in front. Wheelchairs and crumpled walkers remained near tarpaulins covering bodies at the site.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he sent his "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," he said.
"My heart breaks hearing the news of the tragic accident near Carberry," Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said on Twitter.
In neighbouring Saskatchewan, 16 people died in April 2018 after a truck hit a bus transporting a junior hockey team on a rural road. The truck driver was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019.
The worst traffic accident in Canadian history occurred in 1997 when a bus carrying seniors plunged into a ravine in the province of Quebec, killing 44 people.
Sources: Reuters, Winnipeg Sun
The bus was on fire in the grass on the side of the road. First responders were trying to get people out of the burning vehicle. Witnesses recounted rescue workers frantically pulling people from the burning bus near a partially jack-knifed semi-trailer truck, its front end crumpled and smashed, amid broken glass, a large bumper and what appeared to be a walker.
The injured suffered mainly head and orthopaedic injuries, RCMP said and both drivers survived.
Officials said 12 ambulances responded along with air support to the crash, which occurred in clear weather conditions at about noon at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, just north of the town of Carberry. Carberry is 170 kilometres west of Winnipeg and about halfway between Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan boundary.
RCMP Supt Rob Lasson said it appears the bus, carrying 25 people from Dauphin and the surrounding area, was crossing the Trans-Canada, heading south, when it was struck. “The bus had already crossed the westbound lanes and was crossing the eastbound lanes when it was struck by the semi,” said Lasson.
Hill said that "sadly, this is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness." The bus had been carrying about 25 people, most of them elderly, he said.
Ten other people were being treated in hospital. Police said the drivers of both vehicles were alive and declined to say who might have been responsible for the crash.
The bus passengers had been on their way to a casino in Carberry, said a casino spokesperson. Media reports initially identified the vehicle as a van rather than a bus. They said it was operated by Handi-Transit, which transports the elderly and those with disabilities.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showed a still photo of a white minivan-sized vehicle that had been burned out. It also showed a picture of a blue truck with a smashed-in front. Wheelchairs and crumpled walkers remained near tarpaulins covering bodies at the site.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he sent his "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," he said.
"My heart breaks hearing the news of the tragic accident near Carberry," Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said on Twitter.
In neighbouring Saskatchewan, 16 people died in April 2018 after a truck hit a bus transporting a junior hockey team on a rural road. The truck driver was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019.
The worst traffic accident in Canadian history occurred in 1997 when a bus carrying seniors plunged into a ravine in the province of Quebec, killing 44 people.
Sources: Reuters, Winnipeg Sun
