OTTAWA (Reuters) – The 16 people killed when a truck collided with a small bus in the central Canadian province of Manitoba ranged in age from 68 to 88, and 14 of them were women, police said on Thursday.
The accident, one of the worst in recent Canadian history, occurred on June 15 at a highway junction near the town of Carberry, 170 km (105 miles) west of Winnipeg. The bus had been taking the victims to a casino.
“Hearts are broken, families are grieving, a community is feeling immeasurable loss,” said Superintendent Jeff Asmundson of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In a statement, he said nine survivors were still in hospital with serious injuries. The toll initially stood at 15 but authorities said on Wednesday that another person had died.
Investigators have already determined from video footage that the bus entered the roadway where the truck had the right of way. Police say a probe into what happened could take months to complete.
The crash was the worst in Canada since 16 people died in 2018 when a truck hit a bus transporting a junior hockey team in neighboring Saskatchewan. The truck driver was sentenced to eight years in prison.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Deepa Babington)
