Fifteen dead, 10 injured after seniors bus collides with semi-trailer on Trans-Canada

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This article was published 15/06/2023 (1085 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has extended condolences to the families of 15 seniors who died in a collision between a bus and semi-trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway in western Manitoba Thursday, calling it “incredibly tragic.”

“I’m sending my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones today, and I’m keeping the injured in my thoughts. I cannot imagine the pain those affected are feeling — but Canadians are here for you,” he said in a tweet.

Ten others, including the drivers of the bus and the semi-trailer, were being treated for head and orthopedic injuries at four hospitals, including in Brandon and Winnipeg, officials said.

RCMP said the semi-trailer was heading eastbound on Highway 1 and the bus was headed southbound on Highway 5. The bus had already crossed the westbound lanes of Highway 1 and was crossing the eastbound lanes when it was struck by the semi, RCMP said.

The seniors, who were from the Dauphin area, were on a bus trip to the Sand Hills Casino near Carberry, 170 kilometres west of Winnipeg around noon Thursday.

At a news conference, Mounties said it would take time to positively identify the deceased, and officers were working with the help of the medical examiner. A family support centre had been set up at a Lutheran church in Dauphin.

“Sadly, this is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness. I want to express my deepest condolences on behalf of the RCMP to every family member who is grieving today,” said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill.

“I also want to acknowledge there are many people in Dauphin and the surrounding areas were anxiously awaiting news about a loved one. 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.”

The tragedy echoes the shocking bus tragedy in rural Saskatchewan in 2018 in which 16 people died and 13 were injured after their bus was struck by a semi-trailer.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, RCMP said Manitoba officers would be assisted by their Saskatchewan counterparts.

As families scrambled to get news about their loved ones, RCMP investigators promised they would get to the bottom of the crash, even as they refused to assign blame.

“Answers will take some time, but I assure you RCMP will get the answers,” said Manitoba RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson.

“There could be a criminal element to this investigation,” he said.

Manitoba hasn’t had a mass casualty accident such as this, he said.

While Premier Heather Stefanson didn’t attend the news conference, she offered condolences and the government said flags at the legislature had been lowered to half-mast.

“Our hearts are broken and our thoughts are with the families,” Deputy Premier Cliff Cullen told the news conference.

Following the collision, the bus could be seen off the highway in a ditch, while the truck had stopped on the shoulder of the highway. The roof of the van had burned off.

Tarps covered bodies of the decased in seven or eight locations. Wheelchairs and crumpled walkers remained near the tarps. A stop sign had been knocked down.

Twelve ambulances and one air ambulance had been dispatched to the scene, which closed down the Trans-Canada in both directions for hours.

Brandon resident Tracy Leitch was driving west on the Trans-Canada when she noticed smoke billowing in the air.

When she passed the scene moments later, victims being tended to on the ground.

“(The van) was burnt right to the ground,” said Leitch, who was driving to the U.S.

“I was in shock a little bit, and almost wanted to start crying. I felt sorry for all the people involved and the families. Just heartbroken.”

Nirmesh Vadera, who works at the Robin’s Nest Hotel and Cafe near the intersection, went outside to see what was happening, after noticing emergency services vehicles.

Firefighters were trying to extinguish the bus fire, while victims were tended to.

“It was horrible to see,” he said. “I’ve never seen that kind of (crash). It’s really hard to describe how bad it was.”

Vadera said collisions occasionally occur at the intersection.

“The junction is really bad,” he said. “Every year, we see a collision.”

RCMP said all available resources in western Manitoba had been deployed to assist first responders, and officers in its major crime services had taken control of the investigation.

The emergency department at Health Sciences Centre called a “code orange” to prepare for an influx of patients.

Caroline Bleackley, a trucker from B.C. who was on her way to Winnipeg, said she was approaching the intersection around noon when she saw heavy smoke billowing from a vehicle in the ditch.

Traffic had been stopped in all directions, with at least two fire trucks on the scene.

“I could see there were people laying on the ground and people trying to attend to the bodies on the ground,” she said by phone. “I have seen collisions before, but not like this; not of this magnitude.”

Bleackley was unsure whether paramedics had arrived by that time; she thought bystanders were among those trying to help the injured.

She later saw four or five ambulances heading toward the scene, she said.

Around 3:30 p.m., the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada were reopened. Eastbound lanes at Highway 5 remained closed and a detour, using service roads, was in effect.

» Winnipeg Free Press