Six people critical and 15 dead after Canada highway crash

A deadly highway collision in Canada in which 15 people died has left six others fighting for life, police say.

A further four survivors with less serious injuries are also being treated in hospital, officials said on Friday.

A bus carrying elderly people, ages 58 to 88, was going to a casino when it collided with a truck on a highway in Manitoba on Thursday afternoon.

It is “one of the worst tragedies” ever seen in the province near Winnipeg, one official said.

A major response to the deadly crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, two hours west of Winnipeg, involved 13 ambulances, and air ambulances.

Emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene at 11:43 local time on Thursday (17:35 BST).

Authorities obtained dashcam footage from the front of the semi-trailer lorry, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Superintendent Rob Lawson in a Friday press conference.

The video indicates the bus entered the roadway when the semi-trailer lorry had right of way.

He prefaced his statement by saying they are not assigning culpability to anyone now, simply stating facts from the footage.

The RCMP has received statements from passing motorists, which corroborates what they know so far.

Mr Lawson also said they have spoken to the lorry driver, who is physically doing well.

They have not spoken to the bus driver who is still in hospital, he added.

“Manitoba experienced one of the worst tragedies this province has ever seen,” said Lanette Siragusa, of the hospital where many of the victims were taken, said. “There are no words.”

The drivers of the two vehicles were among those taken to hospital.

Mr Lawson said there were 19 females and six males on the bus. There are six female and four male survivors.

Dr Shawn Young, chief executive of the Winnipeg hospital, said the six patients in critical care had “quite extensive injuries”.

The age of the patients could affect recovery, he added. “This is an elderly cohort of patients.”

Most of the elderly people onboard the bus were from the town of Dauphin, Manitoba, or the surrounding areas, and were traveling to the Sand Hills Casino in Carberry.