Train collides with bus in Canada’s capital; multiple deaths reported

OTTAWA — Several people were killed when a passenger train collided with a city bus at a crossing in Canada’s capital at the peak of morning rush hour, police said Wednesday.

Witnesses said the bus went through a closed crossing barrier. Photos showed the front end of the double-decker bus was ripped off by the impact with the Via Rail train.

It was Canada’s worst train accident since an oil train derailed and exploded in a Quebec town in July, killing dozens of people.

A number of bus passengers were injured Wednesday, Ottawa Fire spokesman Mark Messier told CP24 television. Via Rail posted a message on Twitter saying there were no reports of major injuries to passengers or crew on the train.

Via Rail canceled trains on its Ottawa-Toronto route after the accident, which occurred just outside a suburban train station in the city’s west end. Via Rail identified the station as Fallowfield.

Pascal Lolgis, who witnessed the crash, said the bus appeared to drive through a lowered crossing barrier.

“Boom! It went into the train like that,” Lolgis said. “‘’He just didn’t stop.”

Another witness, Mark Cogan, also said the rail barrier was down.

“He went through the guard rail and just hammered the train, and then it was just mayhem,” Cogan said.

The train tracks in the area cross a major city street and a transit line reserved for buses only.

Rescue crews swarmed over the wreckage. The injured bus passengers who could walk were taken to a second bus nearby to be treated by paramedics.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted a message on Twitter saying he was deeply saddened by the accident and his thoughts and prayers were with the families of those involved.

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