Two people were killed and several others seriously injured last night in a horrific collision between a bus and a car in Saint-Fabian, near Rimouski.
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The major crash happened around 5:15 pm on Route 132, just before Big National Park. The accident occurred between a westbound bus and an oncoming car. Auto driver and bus passenger died.
Police initially said it was a passenger coach and not a school bus. When rescuers arrived, the coach, identified as the Orleans Express, was in the ditch. Always on its wheels, we understand that it does not move. So the worst was averted.
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At least 40 people were on board. A massive search operation was carried out by police and paramedics to identify the seriously injured.
Lighter cases were taken to the arena in another bus for medical evaluation. Initial reports indicated several people were injured.
Serious injuries
“People have suffered serious injuries,” SQ spokesman Claude Doiron noted quickly before an update on the situation.
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In total, a dozen seriously injured people were sent to the Rimouski hospital. Staff were preparing to bring in a mass of casualties coded orange for “external disaster”. In the event of such an event, employees must quickly return to their workplace and carry out the tasks provided in the emergency measures plan.
Route 132 is closed in both directions. A detour through a secondary road was necessary but the trucker had to wait. Weather and road conditions in the area last night were poor, according to emergency services.
Two departures from Gaspé to Rimouski were canceled in Orleans on Wednesday. “Our first thoughts go out to everyone involved in the crash,” company spokeswoman Emily Charest said.
Rare
It is very rare for train passengers to die. In March 2012, a rental bus ran off the road on Route 165 at the entrance to Plessisville in the Centre-du-Quebec region, killing two people.
A 5-year-old child died in December 2021 after boarding a school bus in Lister, Centre-du-Quebec region, to transport schoolchildren. In 35 years there has been no road accident like this in the province.
The deadliest road tragedy in Canadian history was Les Épulments in Charlevoix. On October 13, 1997, 44 people died in a bus accident.
