First responders praised following school bus crash in B.C.'s Cariboo region
CBC
The swift response to the school bus crash in B.C.'s Cariboo region, which left about 36 people injured on Friday, was crucial in ensuring the safety of those involved, according to a fire chief who was on the scene.
I'm "so extremely proud of the volunteer fire departments and the firefighters [who] attended and our other partner agencies," said Roger Hollander, the Cariboo Regional District fire chief.
Seven people were airlifted to the hospital and seven were sent in ambulances. In addition, a subsequent incident at the same location left one person dead. The B.C. RCMP declined to give any information about the deceased on Saturday.
According to the RCMP, the bus went off the road and down an embankment after travelling on Highway 97 north of 100 Mile House, which is about 455 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
The cause of the bus crash is still being investigated, officials said.
Cpl. Brett Urano, the division media relations officer, confirmed the bus accident was followed by a second incident, in which a person was struck by a vehicle at the same location.
Despite the life-saving efforts of first responders, the person died, he said.
The Grade 6 and 7 students from 100 Mile Elementary and Horse Lake Elementary who were on the bus were returning from a field trip to Gavin Lake, about 90 kilometres northwest of 100 Mile House, according to Chris van der Mark, the superintendent of the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District.
Nearly 40 of the students and four adults onboard, including a driver and teachers were "extricated" from the site of the accident, fire Chief Hollander said.
"Many of those students were … removed … and were assisted by passersby and other witnesses," he said.
However, when fire crews responded to the scene, they found the driver and one student needed to be extricated after being trapped inside the bus.
Thanks to a co-ordinated response from 100 Mile House Fire Rescue, RCMP and volunteer firefighters, both individuals were successfully rescued, Hollander said.
Van der Mark said the school district plans to support the children and families who were involved.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.