15 dead, 10 hospitalized in crash on Trans-Canada Highway in Manitoba: RCMP

RCMP press conference on fatal crash near Carberry Manitoba RCMP Commanding Officer Rob Hill speaks at a press conference held June 15, 2023 after a fatal collision killed 15 people near Carberry, Man.

Fifteen people are dead and 10 others have been taken to hospital after a bus collided with a semi truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man.

Manitoba RCMP said around 11:43 a.m. Thursday, officers received a report that a bus carrying approximately 25 people collided with a semi truck at Highway 1 and Highway 5, near the Town of Carberry – a community two hours west of Winnipeg.

Manitoba RCMP Commanding Officer Rob Hill said as of Thursday evening, the crash has left 15 people dead, with 10 other people being taken to hospital with injuries. Hill said the people on the bus are from Dauphin and the surrounding area – most of them were seniors.

"This is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness," Hill said.

A spokesperson for Sand Hills Casino in Carberry has confirmed the bus was en route to the casino.

Images from the scene show a semi truck with its front end crumpled and burned, and what appears to be the burnt shell of a bus in the ditch. Emergency crews were seen placing blankets on the bodies of victims lying on the road.

'IT WAS HORRIBLE': RESIDENTS DESCRIBE SCENE OF CRASH, BURNING VEHICLE

Tracy Leitch was driving along the Trans-Canada Highway around noon Thursday when she came upon the scene of the crash.

"Before we got up to the scene, we (had) seen a lot of smoke," she said.

At the scene she said she saw a semi-truck with its front end crumpled and smoking, and the bus which she said was badly damaged.

"There was nothing left of the vehicle," she said, saying she has never seen a crash like this before. "I was almost in tears and almost had a panic attack. Like I just felt really sick to my stomach."

Nirmesh Vadera, who was working in the area around the time of the crash, said he saw a semi-truck and what he said appeared to be a passenger vehicle that was burning.

"I can't describe it, because I've never saw this much flame and all the accident," he said. "People were trying to save themselves and… medical staff, fire staff – they were helping them to get out. It is hard to describe, but it was horrible."

CRASH ECHOES 2018 HUMBOLDT TRAGEDY, RCMP SAYS

Two STARS air ambulances were called to the scene of the crash – one from Winnipeg and one from Regina, along with other emergency responders who were flown out to the area. STARS said in total, 14 of its medical crew members were responding.

Officials said in addition to this, 12 ambulances were on scene transporting victims to hospital in Winnipeg.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, RCMP said all available resources were deployed to respond to the mass casualty crash.

Police have set up a family support centre in the basement of the Lutheran Church at 2 Kirby Avenue East in Dauphin, where officers are meeting with family members of victims and answering questions.

"I also want to acknowledge there are many people in Dauphin in the surrounding areas who are anxiously awaiting news about a loved one," Hill said. "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."

Superintendent Rob Lasson, the officer in charge major crime services with the Manitoba RCMP, said the crash has echoes of the 2018 crash in Humboldt, Saskatchewan – in which 16 people died and 13 were injured.

"We have already linked into the investigators in Saskatchewan who have first-hand experience and were some of the primary investigators in the investigation into the Humboldt crash," Lasson said, adding they are helping with the investigation.

"Even at the outset of an investigation such as this, we need to be alive to the fact that there could be wrongdoing and if so, there could be a criminal element to this investigation."

William Doherty, the CEO of Day & Ross trucking company – which was involved in the crash, said they are heartbroken by the tragic news.

"The thoughts of the entire Day & Ross team are with those who have lost loved ones in this terrible incident, and we are holding out hope that those injured will recover," Doherty said in a statement to CTV News.

"We will fully cooperate with the investigation and offer any assistance and support that we can."

CRASH PROMPTED CODE ORANGE AS HOSPITALS ACROSS MANITOBA RESPOND

The crash prompted Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in Winnipeg to declare a code orange for a mass casualty incident just after noon Thursday. A statement from Shared Health said HSC as well as hospitals in Brandon, Prairie Mountain Health and the Winnipeg Health Region were prepared to receive patients.

"Paramedics and first responders spend their entire careers preparing for a day like this, hoping it will never come – today it came," said Jennifer Cumpsty, the executive director of acute health services at HSC. "All of them did their jobs with the utmost skill and professionalism."

Cumpsty confirmed the code orange ended Thursday evening.

'OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN': PRIME MINISTER, MANITOBA PREMIER RESPOND TO DEADLY CRASH

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the crash Thursday afternoon, calling the situation incredibly tragic.

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

Premier Heather Stefanson issued a statement Thursday afternoon, praising first responders and offering condolences to people impacted by the crash.

“Our hearts are broken, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all the lives impacted by the horrific and devastating tragedy near the Town of Carberry,” the premier said in a written statement, Stefanson said the flags at Manitoba’s legislative building will be lowered to half-mast out of respect to the victims.

Ray Muirhead, the Mayor of Carberry, said the town council is in shock.

“Our thoughts are in support of anyone that has been impacted by this tragic event,” he said in a written statement.

Muirhead also asked that people stay away from the area to allow first responders to work.

According to Manitoba 511, the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada highway at Highway 5 remain closed, but a detour is in effect using service roads.

The westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway at Highway 5 are open.

Drivers should expect delays.