Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

RCMP say no critical injuries in crash of B.C. bus carrying pipeline camp workers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Jun, 2023 04:22 PM
  • RCMP say no critical injuries in crash of B.C. bus carrying pipeline camp workers

A bus loaded with camp workers supporting construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline crashed Friday north of Prince George, B.C., injuring 17 of the 30 people on board, the work camp operators said. 

Horizon North, which runs a number of such camps in northern B.C., said in a Facebook post that the bus was transporting the company's employees to a work site when it crashed.

"We are conducting a full investigation to determine the cause of the incident," Horizon North's statement said. 

"We are in the process of gathering additional information and will communicate with all relevant stakeholder groups as the situation develops."

In a written statement, TC Energy, the company behind the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, said the crash located 900 kilometres north of Vancouver involved a charter bus.

"We are grateful for the support and care of those individuals, and that this did not result in a more serious accident," the statement said. "Any incident where workers or the community are involved is not something we take lightly."

Prince George RCMP say no critical injuries have been reported among the 30 people on the bus that went off a forest service road and crashed 120 kilometres north of Prince George, B.C.

RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said Friday that numerous ambulances and police officers were dispatched to the site.

"It took us some time to get out there because of the distance and road conditions," she said of the rain that fell on the region the morning of the crash.

She said initial reports indicated there were no critical injuries, but the distance from Prince George hampered communications as radio coverage is minimal in that area.

BC Emergency Health Services said the 17 patients were transported to hospital in a "wide range of conditions." 

B.C. Premier David Eby said that a phone line had been set up for family and friends of people who may have been involved in the crash.

"This has been a terrible 24 hours for vehicle fatalities and bus collisions," Eby said, referring to the fatal collision between a bus and a semi-truck Thursday in Manitoba. 

"British Columbians are certainly thinking about those who may have been injured in this crash."

Cooper said the cause of the crash is still unclear, but early-morning rain on the gravel road made the conditions “quite poor.”

Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins said the University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George activated a “code orange," used in cases where an influx of patients is expected that could overwhelm the hospital.

“When a code orange is called that can include bringing in additional staff resources, assessing patients that are already in the hospital or patients who are in the emergency department for any ability to have them discharged or transferred in order to increase capacity to receive patients from a particular incident.”

She said a bus was sent to the site of the crash to transport anyone who was not seriously injured.

MORE National ARTICLES

Man arrested after weapons call

Man arrested after weapons call
Victoria Police have arrested a man they allege threatened to shoot another person. Police say officers responded to a report of a man threatening to shoot someone in the 11-hundred block on Pandora Avenue on June 9th.

Man arrested after weapons call

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver
Winds are expected to develop in the late afternoon and continue through the night before easing early tomorrow morning. The areas that could potentially be impacted by the high winds include Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Burnaby and New Westminster. 

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver

Suspect arsonist on the loose

Suspect arsonist on the loose
Police in Surrey are looking for a suspected arsonist who set a fire at the front entrance of a building earlier this month. R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a fire in front of a building in the 139-hundred block of 100 Avenue on June 5th.

Suspect arsonist on the loose

Shots fired in South Surrey

Shots fired in South Surrey
On Tuesday at approximately 3:08 a.m., Surrey RCMP received a report of shots heard in the 13000-block of Crescent Road. Crescent Road is closed in both directions between 130 Street and 132 Street while the scene is being processed.

Shots fired in South Surrey

School teacher charged with sexual assault

School teacher charged with sexual assault
It is alleged that during his tenure as a teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School, Vesco sexually assaulted a student while he was teaching at the school from 2017 to 2019.

School teacher charged with sexual assault

Chilliwack gets Indigenous Justice Centre to help break incarceration cycle, says Eby

Chilliwack gets Indigenous Justice Centre to help break incarceration cycle, says Eby
A statement from Eby's office says Indigenous people comprise about five per cent of B.C.'s population, but account for about 30 per cent of people in provincial jails, and justice centres are a key part of addressing that "over-incarceration."

Chilliwack gets Indigenous Justice Centre to help break incarceration cycle, says Eby