‘Mass Casualty Collision’ on Western Manitoba Trans-Canada Highway, Say RCMP
A serious crash resulting in a mass casualty response has occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway in Manitoba west of Winnipeg, health authorities have confirmed.
The RCMP has jurisdiction and has not confirmed the exact number of fatalities but on June 15 tweeted: “All available Manitoba RCMP resources are deployed to a mass casualty collision,” on Highway 1 near Highway 5.
RCMP said officers from across western Manitoba, including RCMP Major Crime Services, were on the scene to assist, along with other first responders.
In a June 15 statement, hospital authorities said that the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre declared a code orange, indicating a mass casualty incident. Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg as well as hospitals in Prairie Mountain Health and the Winnipeg Health Region say they are prepared to receive patients related to this event, and/or patients relocated in order to create capacity at Manitoba’s tertiary centre.
“Response teams are at the scene and transporting patients and emergency department, surgical and critical care teams at HSC and Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC) are prepared to support the care needs of incoming patients,” said a statement from Shared Health.
Earlier in the day, Manitoba Roads had announced that a motor vehicle collision had closed Highway 1 in both directions, 3.2 km before and after Highway 5, with all lanes closed.
CBC News reported that at least 10 people had been killed after a crash between a semi-trailer truck and a Handi-Transit vehicle near the town of Carberry. Handi-Transit is a public transit service that provides door-to-door service for individuals with disabilities.
STAR-9 Regina Air Ambulance posted on Twitter that a helicopter had been dispatched for an emergency in the Carberry, Manitoba area. A second Winnipeg Stars air ambulance had been dispatched to the scene, with medical crews responding.
More to come.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
