Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

RCMP say several injured after coach bus rolls over in Saskatchewan

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Nov, 2023 10:39 AM
  • RCMP say several injured after coach bus rolls over in Saskatchewan

Firefighters had to break windows to free people trapped in a coach bus that rolled Wednesday morning in southeast Saskatchewan. 

Members of Shania Twain's concert production crew were on a bus that crashed Wednesday morning on an icy highway in southeast Saskatchewan.

The music star's management company, Maverick, said in a statement that the bus and a truck from her “Queen of Me” tour were in the crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Wolseley.

Twain was not on the bus. The crew members were heading from Winnipeg, where Twain had a show Tuesday night, to Saskatoon, where she was scheduled to perform Thursday.

“We ask for patience as we look after our touring family,” the statement said.

Dwayne Stone, the fire chief for the Town of Grenfell, said they were called out to the crash on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Wolseley just after 7 a.m. Roads were extremely slippery after the area was doused by rain then covered in snow. 

Stone said firefighters found the bus on its side.

“It looks like they lost control, went into the ditch sideways and then the wheels caught the ground and it rolled," he said.

The double-decker bus was set up so passengers could sleep on the top level, Stone said. Firefighters used an emergency hatch in the roof and took out windows in order to get to the 13 people stuck inside. 

“When it rolled, all the debris trapped people in," he said. "Basically we just had to go in, gently remove items, so we can free people.”

Stone said the people were taken to a nearby hospital, but he didn't believe any of their injuries were life-threatening. RCMP did not provide further information on their conditions.

Stone said the bus had a Tennessee licence plate and was operated by a tour company with headquarters in Florida. Firefighters also had to retrieve luggage from the tipped bus to get the passengers' passports.

When the bus tipped, Stone said he figures many passengers had been sleeping, because they “just had their socks on and no coats," he said. "We had to give them blankets to keep warm.”

Mounties closed the Trans-Canada Highway from Wolseley, 100 kilometres east of Regina, to the Manitoba boundary due to icy road conditions. 

Stone said firefighters also responded to two jackknifed semi-trailers on the highway the same morning and weather conditions had not improved significantly. He advised people in the area to avoid driving if possible. 

"Until it warms up again, it’s going to be very icy.”

 

MORE National ARTICLES

'It's never easy': Suspect dead, police officer injured in Calgary shootout

'It's never easy': Suspect dead, police officer injured in Calgary shootout
Flashing lights and police tape encircled a strip mall in northeast Calgary late Wednesday afternoon after a shootout that sent a police officer to hospital and left one suspect dead. Police say tactical team officers were executing a high-risk warrant at McKnight Village, in the northeastern community of Falconridge, at about 1 p.m.   

'It's never easy': Suspect dead, police officer injured in Calgary shootout

Atmospheric river passes in southern B.C., but area rivers still rising

Atmospheric river passes in southern B.C., but area rivers still rising
Rainfall warnings across Vancouver Island and the inner south coast have lifted in most areas, but the effects of British Columbia's first atmospheric river of autumn could take a little longer to ease. The B.C. River Forecast Centre posted flood watches across western Vancouver Island and for the Englishman River near Parksville, warning of levels seen only once every 10 years on some waterways.

Atmospheric river passes in southern B.C., but area rivers still rising

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University
Nearly 1,600 members launched job action on Sept. 26 after being without a collective agreement for 19 months, forcing the cancellation of tutorials, labs, lectures, office hours and the marking of assignments. Key issues included wages, class size and pensions for instructors.  

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo
Mounties in Nanaimo say they're investigating the fatal drug overdose of a woman back in March that they now believe was a homicide.  The Nanaimo R-C-M-P says its serious crime unit is looking into the death of 52-year-old Wendy Head, who was found dead at a home in the city on March 7th.   

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president
London Drugs president Clint Mahlman says the company has no plans to close stores due to escalating violence and theft, though the issue has reached a "crisis point" for Canadian retailers. Mahlman says the company was disappointed to learn that a Vancouver city councillor said on social media that London Drugs was considering closing one of its main stores in the city, at the intersection of Granville and Georgia streets, due to crime. 

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

Funding for BC hospitals

Funding for BC hospitals
Hospitals in Merrit, Oliver and Salmon Arm will get 7.5-million-dollars in permanent funding from the province to help stabilize physician emergency-room coverage. Health Minister Adrian Dix says challenges like worker recruitment and retention and the ongoing toxic-drug crisis are more prominent in rural and remote communities.  

Funding for BC hospitals