© 2024 WXPR
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Several Deaths Reported After Train Hits Bus In Ottawa

Officials monitor the scene of a crash between a passenger train en route to Toronto and a double-decker bus at a crossing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday.
Stephen Morrison
/
EPA/Landov
Officials monitor the scene of a crash between a passenger train en route to Toronto and a double-decker bus at a crossing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday.

A passenger train hit a passenger bus at a railroad crossing around 8:48 a.m ET Wednesday in Canada's capital city and there were fatalities.

Canadian Broadcasting reported initially that "Ottawa fire officials say preliminary figures show 5 dead in bus-train collision. #ViaRail tweets nobody seriously hurt on train."

As 11:32 a.m. ET, the CBC's Hanna Thibedeau updated to say that "city officials confirm 6 dead, 31 transported to hospitals, 11 in critical [condition]."

Toronto's CP24 says that the Toronto-bound "passenger train derailed but remained upright after hitting the OC Transpo double-decker bus at a level crossing. The front end of the bus was torn apart in the collision."

Update at 10:43 a.m. ET. Possible That Bus Drive Through Warning Gate:

The CBC reports that "Gregory Mech, a passenger on the bus, speaks to CBC News: 'From what I can tell the bus driver did not notice that these train tracks signal lights were on and the gates were down. People screamed on the bus shortly before the crash because he was not stopping.' "

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
Up North Updates
* indicates required