At least 15 people have died after a truck collided with a bus carrying senior citizens in a rural portion of Canada’s Manitoba province on Thursday afternoon, according to local authorities.
The bus was headed south on Highway 5 toward a casino near the town of Carberry, while the semitrailer was headed east on Highway 1, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Rob Lasson said in a news conference.
The crash is one of the most lethal road accidents in recent Canadian history.
“We’ve been able to establish that at least 15 people have been confirmed deceased as a result of this collision,” said Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill, who commands the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The bus had been carrying about 25 people, most of them elderly, he said.
Ten other people were being treated in hospital. Police said the drivers of both vehicles were alive, and declined to say who might have been responsible for the crash.
“This is new for us and our investigators, and it is very emotionally draining for them as well,” he said.
A majority of those on the bus were seniors who lived in and around the city of Dauphin, according to RCMP assistant commissioner Rob Hill.
Not all of the victims’ families had been notified as of Thursday evening.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he sent his “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,” he said.
“My heart breaks hearing the news of the tragic accident near Carberry,” Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said on Twitter.
Flags have been lowered in mourning at Manitoba’s legislative building, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked the tragedy in a statement on Twitter.
The worst traffic accident in Canadian history occurred in 1997 when a bus carrying seniors plunged into a ravine in the province of Quebec, killing 44 people.
