Inquiry to hear about tour bus rollover at Columbia Icefield that killed three

A fatality inquiry into the deaths of three people in a bus rollover at the Columbia Icefields Parkway gets underway on Friday.

JASPER, ALTA. — A fatality inquiry is underway into the deaths of three people on a tour bus that tumbled down a steep embankment at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park.

Fourteen others were seriously injured after the Ice Explorer lost control on a road leading to the Athabasca Glacier, southeast of the Jasper townsite, on July 18, 2020.

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The bus rolled about 50 metres down before coming to rest on its roof.

RCMP did not lay criminal charges, but bus operator Brewster Inc. pleaded guilty to two charges under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was fined $475,000 for failing to mandate seatbelts and failing to control hazards.

The icefield tours were paused, resuming after the operator added seatbelts to the buses and made changes to training for its drivers.

A fatality inquiry cannot assign blame but makes recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

Justice Vaughn Myers is expected to hear about brake inspections and maintenance of the bus carrying those who died: Dionne Durocher, 24, of North Battleford, Sask.; Kamleshbai Patel, 58; and Griva Patel, 28, of Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press