Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

RCMP say 15 dead after bus carrying seniors collides with semi truck Manitoba

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Jun, 2023 04:31 PM
  • RCMP say 15 dead after bus carrying seniors collides with semi truck Manitoba

RCMP say 15 people are dead and 10 are in hospital after a bus carrying people from Dauphin, Man., many of them seniors, collided with a semi truck.

Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill, the commanding officer of Manitoba's RCMP, said Thursday the crash happened at the intersection of highways 1 and 5 near Carberry, about two hours south of Dauphin. 

"Sadly, this is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness," he told a news conference. 

He said every available resource has been sent to the scene.

A family support centre has been set up in the basement of the Lutheran Church in Dauphin for relatives.

Police said the drivers of the truck and the bus survived. 

Hill said his thoughts go out to families anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones. 

"To all those waiting, I can't imagine how difficult it is not knowing if the person you love the most will be making it home tonight."

Kim Armstrong, the administrator of the Dauphin senior centre, said the bus left from there Thursday morning.

She said the senior community is extremely tight knit in the city of around 8,600 people and the centre is sometimes like a second home.

“It’s huge to lose so many individuals of our community and of course it is shocking. We just pray for those that are surviving,” she said.

Armstrong said seniors and community members often go on trips on buses to nearby events or casinos. The tragic crash still feels unimaginable, she said. 

“It’s hard to put it into words,” she said.

A damaged semi truck could be seen on the side of the road and the burnt-out bus in a ditch along Highway 1, which is the Trans-Canada.  

The pavement was littered with debris — broken glass, a large bumper and what looked like a walker. Seven blue and yellow tarps were stretched out.

Photos supplied to The Canadian Press by a witness from the scene earlier Thursday showed the bus smouldering in a ditch alongside the road.

Nirmesh Vadera, who was working at a business on the side of the highway when the crash happened, said he went outside and saw a transport truck with a smashed engine on the highway. 

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, he said.

“It was burning and all the (firefighters) and medical help and everybody was trying to get them away from the fire. They are just trying to give treatment and everything,” he said.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

More snow brings warnings for some B.C. highways

More snow brings warnings for some B.C. highways
Environment Canada says anywhere from 15 to 25 centimetres is expected at higher elevations of the passes north and east of Hope by Tuesday morning. Up to 15 centimetres of snow is forecast along the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler, but the weather office says conditions there should ease by later in the day.

More snow brings warnings for some B.C. highways

Four of Flair Airlines leased aircraft seized

Four of Flair Airlines leased aircraft seized
Flair Airlines says passengers were "impacted" after four of its leased aircraft were seized in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo, Ont., in what the company is calling a "commercial dispute." Flair issued a statement on Saturday calling the move by "a New York-based hedge fund" to take the aircraft "extreme and unusual."    

Four of Flair Airlines leased aircraft seized

One found dead in an apartment fire in the Whalley area of Surrey

One found dead in an apartment fire in the Whalley area of Surrey
 Surrey Fire Service say they found one person dead inside an apartment after a fire in the Whalley area.  The Surrey RCMP were also called in to the 13300 Block of 104th Avenue where the fire took place at around 8:30am on Saturday.     

One found dead in an apartment fire in the Whalley area of Surrey

RCMP looking for man wanted on BC wide warrant

RCMP looking for man wanted on BC wide warrant
A province wide warrant has been issued for 24-year-old Austin Durocher, who is charged with one count each of assault, assault by choking, suffocating or strangling, causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal and uttering threats.

RCMP looking for man wanted on BC wide warrant

Clocks across Canada to jump forward

Clocks across Canada to jump forward
B.C. Premier David Eby says the province wants to remain "in sync" with West Coast American states and he's "very much looking forward to getting rid of daylight saving time." B.C.'s time change at 2 a.m. Sunday morning may be its last.  

Clocks across Canada to jump forward

Vancouver Police release video of suspect responsible for a string of purse thefts in Downtown

Vancouver Police release video of suspect responsible for a string of purse thefts in Downtown
Vancouver Police are releasing video of recent purse thefts in highly populated businesses in the downtown core to illustrate how easily this crime can happen. The following incidents have been reported since January, and investigators believe that the same person is responsible for all. 

Vancouver Police release video of suspect responsible for a string of purse thefts in Downtown