Dramatic bus accident in Canada: 4 dead and dozens injured

Four people died and several were injured after a bus crash on a British Columbia highway on New Year's Eve, local authorities said Sunday.

 

In all, 53 people were sent to four hospitals in the western Canadian province, of whom 36 were treated "for serious to minor injuries," Interior Health, the regional health authority, said. As of Sunday morning, eight people were still hospitalized, including two in critical condition. Federal police investigating the incident said there is every reason to believe that the "extremely icy road" caused the bus to overturn. British Columbia has been hit by winter storm warnings for the past week, which have brought a lot of snow, including to the area where the accident occurred, a three-hour drive east of Vancouver.

 

Our thoughts are with those affected by the accident, their loved ones, and the first responders and caregivers," said British Columbia Premier David Eby in a statement, saying he was "shocked and saddened" by the news. Since Friday, Canada has been dealing with a series of winter storms that have hit the country from west to east. In Ontario, the extreme conditions derailed a freight train on Saturday, causing all trains between Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto and Montreal to be cancelled for Christmas Day. Prior to this accident, a falling tree on a locomotive and power outages had already caused major delays on Friday night, with some passengers waiting nearly 18 hours between Ottawa and Toronto.