3 dead, multiple people hurt when bus overturns in Canadian national park

Three people were killed and several others were seriously injured Saturday when a glacier sightseeing bus rolled over in Canada’s Jasper National Park, authorities said.

Cpl. Leigh Drinkwater, a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, confirmed that three of the 27 passengers aboard the bus were killed, CBC reported.

Tour company Pursuit conducts tours in the area, the Calgary Sun reported. Company spokesperson Tanya Otis confirmed that an Ice Explorer off-road vehicle overturned at 2:09 p.m. local time as it headed to the Athabasca Glacier.

“We will provide additional details as they become available. Our immediate concern is with the injured and their families and we are supporting the efforts of first responders,” Otis said.

An Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kenny Williamson told the Edmonton Journal that there were multiple patients, including several in critical and serious condition, and that several hospitals in Alberta were being prepared to receive patients.

“We are preparing several of our hospitals, including in Edmonton and Calgary, for patients involved in the Columbia Icefields accident,” Williamson told the newspaper.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney tweeted he was saddened to hear about the accident.

Randy Cusack said he was driving into the icefield parking lot when he saw a helicopter and several emergency crews on the scene.

“One of the snow tour buses was upside down and off the bank, to the left of the glacier, not on the actual glacier but just a side road,” Cusack told CBC. “It looked like it was kind of on the shoulder, slid and rolled down the embankment a couple of times. It’s horrible.”

Cox Media Group