Elderly Bus Collision Truck: 15 Dead And 10 Others Rushed To Hospital

Illustration. (Unsplash/David von Diemar)

JAKARTA - At least 15 people died in Manitoba Province on Thursday, after a semi trailer truck hit a small bus carrying a group with the majority being an elderly (elderly), local police said.

The Manitoba Province accident is one of the deadliest highway accidents in Canadian history.

The accident, which occurred at the intersection of two main roads near Carberry City in southwest Manitoba Province, 170 km (105 miles) west of Winipeg, Canada, is one of the deadliest in the country's history.

Meanwhile, CBC News quoted a casino spokesman as saying bus passengers were on their way to a casino in Carberry.

"We have been able to confirm that at least 15 people have been confirmed to have died as a result of this collision," said Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill, who leads the Manitoba Royal Canadian Police Mounted Police.

Hill further said in a televised press conference, "Unfortunately, this is a day in Manitoba and throughout Canada that will be remembered as a day full of extraordinary tragedy and sadness."

The bus was carrying about 25 people, most of them were parents, he said. Ten other people were hospitalized.

Police said the truck and bus drivers involved in the accident were still alive, but refused to say who was responsible for the accident.

Media reports initially identified the vehicle as a van and not a bus. They said the vehicle was operated by Handi-Transit, which takes the elderly and people with disabilities.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation shows a photo of a white vehicle measuring a burning minivan. Also displayed a picture of a blue truck with the front destroyed.

Damaged wheelchairs and road aids remain near the tarpaulin covering the bodies at the scene, the Free Press's Winnipeg said.

Separately, in a tweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones today, and I continue to pray for those who are injured. I can't imagine the pain felt by those affected," he said.

Meanwhile, Manitoba Prime Minister Heather Stefanson wrote on Twitter, "My heart is devastated to hear the news of a tragic accident near Carberry".

This accident is one of the worst in Canada. Previously, 16 people died in April 2018 after a truck hit a bus carrying a junior hockey team on a rural road. The truck driver was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019.

The worst traffic accident in Canadian history occurred in 1997, when a bus carrying seniors fell into a ravine in Quebec Province and killed 44 people.