Dauphin residents await answers on who died in fatal bus crash

The streets of this western Manitoba city were quiet Saturday as residents awaited confirmation on whether they knew any of the 15 killed or 10 injured in a horrific highway collision this week.

Outside city hall on Main Street in Dauphin, Man., there were few people passing by the flags at half-mast and the digital billboard that displayed a burning candle.

A few blocks away, a portable sign outside a plumbing business said: "We love you, Dauphin."

Helen Kufley was among those who died on the bus, her son Garry said in a message Sunday, adding more details about her are to be released through police in the coming days. A brief online obituary says Kufley was 88.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said the support centre for families of those involved in the crash was not very busy.

There were no visible makeshift memorials, unlike in the aftermath of the bus crash 400 kilometres west in Humboldt, Sask., five years ago that killed 16 people, most members of the Broncos hockey team.

Cam Bennet, a Dauphin high school teacher, said that may be because in Humboldt, it was immediately clear that members of a hockey team had perished. This situation is different.

"We're all still waiting to see who was on that bus. We all know that we're going to know someone [who was], and it's just a matter of waiting and finding out," said Bennet.

Residents are banding together by calling each other and checking on friends and relatives, he added.

Jason Gilmore, president of the Dauphin Rail Museum, said he moved back to the city in 2018 to be with family.

He said it's likely most people will know of someone who was on the minibus because of the community's closeness.

"It's palpable to me, just the...sense of grief, shock," he said.

"You can get a sense that people are trying to just figure out how they're supposed to feel right now."

Business owners downtown said the pace of the city seemed slower than normal.