Fourteen high schoolers and one adult were transported to two hospitals in Manitoba, where mass-casualty emergency codes were issued Tuesday morning after a bus near the northwestern town of Swan River rolled over in icy weather conditions.
At least four passengers are being treated for significant but non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP said in a statement. They declined to say whether the incident is being investigated as an accident, or if criminal charges will be laid.
Local police detachments were alerted about the bus flipping over on a provincial highway just south of Mafeking, Man. on Tuesday at about 8:35 a.m. The town is about 70 kilometres north of Swan River and 540 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
The chief of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, which governs the First Nation reserves around Swan River, said the bus was carrying local students between the ages of 16 to 18 to Swan Valley Regional Secondary School and the vocational Northern Lights Institute of Trades and Technology.
“This is all very scary – kind of a parent’s worst nightmare," Sapotaweyak Chief Nelson Genaille said. “We still don’t have any answers about what actually happened that caused this accident.”
Police said they believe the rollover occurred when the school bus driver tried to pass another bus and lost control. The driver, whom authorities did not identify, went off the highway. The vehicle rolled then came to a stop in a right-side-up position.
A Manitoba RCMP forensic reconstructionist was sent to the scene and continued to investigate late Tuesday.
All 15 passengers were first sent to the Swan Valley Health Centre for assessment, Shared Health and Prairie Mountain Health, Manitoba’s central and regional health authorities, said in a joint statement.
Four people were transported by air to Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre, the province’s largest health-care facility. They are now all in stable condition at HSC, with three patients in the children’s hospital, and one in the adult emergency department, health authorities said.
Both Swan River’s and Winnipeg’s hospitals initially declared a code orange, which is called when staff need to prepare for an influx of patients. The code remained in effect at Swan River as of late Tuesday.
“While we are thankful this incident did not result in any loss of life, we recognize the emotional toll such an event can have on those who experienced it,” Chris Christodoulou, interim president and chief executive officer of Shared Health, and Treena Slate, CEO of Prairie Mountain Health, wrote in their statement.
They thanked first responders and expressed concern for Sapotaweyak, “recognizing the broader impact an incident like this can have on the entire community.”
Citing privacy laws, the Manitoba health officials declined to state the extent of the patients’ injuries, and said they will not be providing further updates.
Mr. Genaille said the students’ parents and guardians rushed to be with their children.
The community is very rattled, he added.
In the past week, slippery roads have caused challenging driving conditions in large parts of Manitoba after significant bouts of freezing rain. The conditions have led to several accidents and collisions in cities such as Winnipeg and Brandon.
In Manitoba, unlike Quebec and British Columbia, there is no provincial law mandating the use of winter tires for school buses, though Manitoba Public Insurance recommends them for all vehicles.
Seat belts in school buses are not currently required either. However, a private member’s bill from the Progressive Conservatives was introduced at the Manitoba legislature late last year that would mandate all buses manufactured after 2026 be equipped with seat belts, while requiring school boards and districts to implement the new policy.
Still at the introductory stage, the bill has been met with skepticism from Manitoba’s NDP Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor, who told reporters in December that school buses are “one of the safest modes of transportation.” She did not provide further comment Tuesday.
In an interview, Rob Tomlinson, superintendent of the Swan Valley School Division, said he is not aware whether the school bus had winter tires or seat belts.
“Our buses are designed to keep our students safe, and I think that job was done today. Everyone is alive and will be okay,” he said. “All we can do now is look after our community, as we process this traumatic event and recover together.”