WHITBOURNE, N.L. — Police say five people were killed when the van they were in collided with a truck, veered into a ditch and burst into flames in eastern Newfoundland.
RCMP in Whitbourne today confirmed the number of deaths in the accident near the Long Harbour overpass at about 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The collision involved a pick-up truck and a passenger van, but police didn't offer any further details about the people inside.
Police say the van was on fire when they arrived, preventing them from getting close to it for several hours.
Jamie Budden, the fire chief with the Whitbourne volunteer fire department, says it's among the most serious incidents his volunteers have ever responded to.
"By the time we arrived on scene and put out the fire it was basically a recovery (of bodies)at that point," he said.
He said the identities of the individuals would be difficult to determine and the van was so badly damaged it was difficult to identify where it was from.
"It was unrecognizable," he said.
""There's a sense of sadness in the community and shock. This is an extreme call even for us, even though we deal with fatalities on highways. On a scale of one to 10, this is an 11 for our volunteers," said the volunteer chief.
The RCMP says it is working with the medical examiner to try to identify the victims and notify their next of kin.
The man driving the pick-up truck was pulled from the vehicle and taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
