At least 15 people have been killed and 10 taken to hospital following a serious collision between a semi-truck and a bus normally used to carry elderly and disabled people in Manitoba, Canada.
The incident happened at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 near Carberry at around 12pm on Thursday.
The bus had already crossed the westbound lanes of Highway 1 and was crossing the eastbound lanes when it was struck by the semi.
The bus was carrying senior citizens from Dauphin, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Witnesses saw a truck nearby which had its front end burned, and a transport van was on fire in a ditch with plumes of thick smoke billowing from it.
At least 15 people have been killed following a serious collision between a semi-truck and a Handi-Transit van normally used to carry elderly and disabled people in Manitoba, Canada
The semi truck is seen across the road, with victims lying in the middle of the highway
Emergency crews are seen on the scene of Thursday’s crash in Manitoba
The crash is one of the worst in Canadian history, with at least 15 people believed killed
Emergency services raced to the scene with Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) Winnipeg and Regina air ambulance services dispatching two helicopters to help those hurt
Emergency services raced to the scene with Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) Winnipeg and Regina air ambulance services dispatching two helicopters and two planes to help those hurt.
Winnipeg hospitals have also been placed on Code Orange, which is used for mass casualty events, and they are preparing for patients from the crash.
The crash is one of the worst in Canadian history.
In neighboring Saskatchewan, 16 people died in April 2018 after a truck hit a bus transporting junior hockey team Humboldt Broncos on a rural road. The truck driver was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019.
One witness on Thursday saw the burning transport van down in a ditch.
Another, John Proven, saw the burned truck nearby and said there were 20 police vehicles and seven or eight ambulances at the scene.
‘I have never seen an accident that big,’ he told CBS News. ‘It’s a little bit shocking.’
The accident happened around midday near Carberry, in Manitoba
The bus, used to transport disabled and elderly people, is pictured ablaze on Thursday
Firefighters were spraying water on a burning white vehicle that was in a ditch to the side of the road.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have provided little details about the crash but did say Mounties are on the scene.
It asked people to avoid the area and give way to officers and emergency vehicles, in a tweet before 1pm.
The highway has been closed near Carberry while authorities deal with the serious incident.
All resources at Manitoba RCMP have been deployed in response to the crash and units from across the western part of the province have been called upon to help with other first responders.
Major crime services have taken over the investigation.
STARS spokesman Blake Robert said: ‘We’ve deployed a number of assets to the scene.
‘That includes STAR 7 which is our helicopter here in Winnipeg, STAR 9 which is our helicopter from the Regina Base and in addition to that, we’ve deployed medical crews on two fixed wing aircraft from here in Winnipeg.
‘So between the two helicopters and the fixed wing deployment to the area, there are 14 STARS critical care members responding to the incident.’
He added: ‘This is definitely a larger response. Certainly not something that’s out of our experience or capability, we’ve responded to large events like this in the past in other provinces.
‘So, we’re certainly well prepared and well capable for it, but this is definitely not a typical level of response that’s required on a STARS mission.
‘This is sort of in line with the similar large incidents that we responded to in the past, such as the tragedy with Humboldt Broncos, the incident in James Smith Cree Nation.’
The semi truck is pictured next to the blazing bus on Thursday
The accident happened near the town of Carberry
Robert did not confirm how many people are being transported from the site but said they usually take patients to Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre (HSC).
A spokesman for Shared Health, which coordinates the delivery of healthcare services across Manitoba, confirmed that a mass casualty response is underway.
Several hospitals in the area were preparing to receive patients from the crash and some people being treated at the HSC may need to be relocated to make space for the victims.
‘Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg as well as hospitals in Prairie Mountain Health and the Winnipeg Health Region are prepared to receive patients related to this event, and/or patients relocated in order to create capacity at Manitoba’s tertiary center,’ a Shared Health spokesman said.
And rooms for the families of the victims have been established at the hospitals.
‘My heart breaks hearing the news of the tragic accident near Carberry,’ Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said on Twitter.
