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Three dead, at least 23 injured in Canada capital bus crash
OTTAWA, Jan 12, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A double decker bus ripped open when it
struck a bus shelter in the Canadian capital on Friday, killing three people
and injuring at least 23, officials said.
Images of the crash during the afternoon rush hour showed upper deck seats
hanging from a gaping hole at the front of the bus, firefighters on ladders
trying to reach the injured and a lineup of 25 ambulances waiting in the
biting cold to take them to hospitals.
Witnesses told local media the OC Transpo Route 269 bus swerved moments
before slamming into the bus shelter overhang at the Westboro station west of
downtown.
Police chief Charles Bordeleau said “several people were trapped on the
upper level” of the bus before being freed.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson told a news conference that three people died and
23 were injured in the “horrific” crash — including 14 critically, according
to paramedic services.
Two of the victims were passengers on the bus. The third had been standing
on the station platform, Watson said.
Bordeleau said the bus driver was arrested at the scene and would be
questioned as part of an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Six years ago in Ottawa, another double decker bus collided with a
passenger train. Six people died.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0849 hrs