At least 10 dead after serious crash near Carberry, Man., source says
Crash involved semi-trailer truck, Handi-Transit vehicle: Brandon fire department
At least 10 people are dead after a serious crash between a semi-trailer truck and a Handi-Transit vehicle near the town of Carberry in southwestern Manitoba, a source tells CBC News.
A CBC reporter at the scene says there are multiple tarps on the ground close to where the collision happened at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, just north of Carberry.
The Brandon fire department told CBC News the crash involved a semi-trailer truck and a Handi-Transit vehicle.
RCMP said they'll provide more details about the crash at a news conference featuring representatives from Shared Health and the province at 4:30 p.m. CT.
The response to the crash included 14 critical care medical crew, two helicopters and two planes from the STARS air ambulance service.
WATCH | Vehicle smoulders in ditch:
STARS spokesperson Blake Robert said that's one of the service's biggest responses ever.
"This is sort of in line with the similar large incidents that we responded to in the past, such as the tragedy with Humboldt Broncos, the incident in James Smith Cree Nation," Robert said.
Robert didn't know yet exactly how many people were transported for medical care after STARS was called just after noon. The helicopters typically take patients to Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre, he said.
A spokesperson for Shared Health said a mass casualty response is underway, with several Manitoba hospitals prepared to receive patients from the crash, including Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg (HSC) and others in the Prairie Mountain and Winnipeg health regions.
Other patients may need to be relocated to create capacity at HSC, which is the province's largest hospital.
Emergency department, surgical and critical care teams at HSC and the Brandon Regional Health Centre are prepared for incoming patients, the spokesperson said in an email.
Rooms for families have been established at both hospitals. Family members seeking information from HSC are asked to contact the HSC switchboard at 204-787-3661 or 1-877-499-8774, while those seeking information from the Brandon hospital are asked to call 204-578-4080.
'Shocking' crash aftermath
A witness to the aftermath of the crash said he saw a burning vehicle in a ditch just after noon on Thursday.
John Proven also saw a semi-trailer truck nearby with a burned front end, and said the burning vehicle in the ditch looked like a van.
He saw about 20 police vehicles and seven or eight ambulances at the scene.
"I have never seen an accident that big," Proven told CBC News in a phone interview. "It's a little bit shocking."
Manitoba RCMP said they've deployed all available resources to the crash, with units from across the western part on the province there to help along with other first responders.
Major crime services will take over the investigation, Mounties said.
With files from Susan Magas and Brittany Greenslade
