Six of 10 seniors who survived a bus crash in Canada that killed 15 others were listed in critical condition in hospital, health officials said Friday. They were among a group of seniors from rural Dauphin, Manitoba on a day-trip to a casino when their minibus crashed with a semi while crossing the Trans-Canada Highway.
The remaining four were also in hospital, where most of the injured were dealing with head injuries and broken bones.
“This is an elderly cohort of patients, so recoveries will be long and, of course, can be complicated,” Dr. Shawn Young, chief operating officer of Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, told a news conference.
In Dauphin, where most of the bus riders are from, flags were flown at half-staff as residents awaited word on the fate of loved ones and police started to piece together what caused the crash near the town of Carberry, some 190 kilometers (118 miles) to the south.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they are working with the medical examiner’s office to confirm identities and pass on information to families of the victims.
The survivors include the drivers of both vehicles.
The bus was carrying 25 people when the collision happened Thursday, carrying people from the Dauphin Active Living Centre to the Sand Hills Casino in Carberry.
Sandra Kaleta, who is involved with the seniors center, said she knew some of the people on the bus and played Scrabble every Tuesday with one of them.
“I have no idea how she is,” said Kaleta. “I think that’s the hardest part. I can’t imagine what some of these families are going through.”
Kaleta said she recalled everyone feeling excited about going to the casino, something that didn't happen often. The last such outing may have been before the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted.
“It’s going to take years, not just days or months (to recover),” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the flag in Ottawa's Peace Tower on Parliament Hill would also be lowered.
The crash happened just before noon Thursday. Police said road conditions were clear at the time.
Rescue crews encountered a horrific scene of bodies on the road.
The semi was still upright in a ditch, its front end crumpled, while the bus was on the grass a short distance away engulfed in flames that eventually burned it down to a blackened chassis.
Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said everyone in the city of about 8,600 knows someone who was on the bus, and there’s a collective feeling of shock.
The accident brought back memories of a 2018 bus crash in the neighboring province of Saskatchewan that killed 16 people from the Humboldt Broncos minor league hockey team.
Meanwhile, police in the Canadian province of British Columbia said no critical injuries have been reported among 30 people on a charter bus that crashed on a forest service road north of Prince George, British Columbia on Friday.
RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said that numerous ambulances and police officers have been dispatched. The bus was carrying pipeline workers Friday morning when it went off the road.
BC Emergency Health Services said 17 patients were transported to hospital.
