RCMP have posted on social media that they are on the scene of a very serious collision near the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 5. An RCMP patch is seen on the shoulder of an assistant commissioner, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
WINNIPEG – Media reports say several people have died in a highway crash west of Winnipeg.
The Winnipeg Free Press, CBC and CTV, citing unidentified sources, say there are multiple fatalities, but authorities have not confirmed a number.
RCMP are calling the crash “very serious” and are asking people to avoid the area of the Trans-Canada Highway where it intersects with Highway 5.
Photos supplied to The Canadian Press by a witness at the scene show what looks like a large van smouldering in a ditch alongside the road.
A transport truck with a smashed engine sits on the road.
Health officials say a mass casualty response is underway but did not give any patient details.
Ambulance helicopters with STARS have been dispatched to the scene from Winnipeg and Regina.
“We also deployed additional STARS crew to the area on two fixed-wing aircraft, for a total of 14 STARS critical care crew responding in addition to area EMS and other first responders,” spokesman Blake Robert said in an email.
The crew is a combination of physicians, paramedics and nurses.
Carberry is 170 kilometres west of Winnipeg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.
