A violent collision between a bus and a car left two dead and several seriously injured last night in Saint-Fabien, near Rimouski.
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The major accident occurred around 5:15 p.m. on Route 132, just before Bic National Park. The impact occurred between a westbound bus and an oncoming car. The driver of the automobile died, as did a passenger on the bus.
This is a passenger coach, not a school bus, police said at the outset. When rescuers arrived, the coach identified as Orléans Express was in the ditch. Always on its wheels, we understand that it did not swerve. The worst has therefore been avoided.
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At least 40 people were on board. An enormous triage work was carried out by the police and the paramedics in order to identify the hardest hit.
Lighter cases were even transported to the arena on another bus for a medical evaluation. The preliminary report reported several injuries.
Serious injuries
“People have suffered serious injuries,” quickly mentioned SQ spokesperson Claude Doiron, before an update on the situation.
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In total, a dozen more seriously injured people were sent to the Rimouski hospital. The staff was also preparing for a massive arrival of wounded with a code orange for an “external disaster”. During such an event, personnel must return to their place of work as quickly as possible and carry out the tasks provided for in the emergency measures plan.
Route 132 has been closed in both directions. A detour was necessary via a secondary road but the truckers had to wait. Weather and road conditions were poor in the area last night according to emergency services.
Two departures from Gaspé to Rimouski were canceled for Wednesday at Orléans. “Our first thoughts go out to everyone involved in the accident,” said company spokesperson Émilie Charest.
Rare
Fatalities of passengers on board a coach are rather rare. In March 2012, a charter bus left the road and killed two people on Route 165 at the entrance to Plessisville, in the Centre-du-Québec region.
For the transport of schoolchildren, a 5-year-old child who was on board a school bus lost his life in December 2021 in Lyster, in the Centre-du-Québec region. Such a road tragedy had not occurred for 35 years in the province.
The deadliest road tragedy in Canadian history remains that of Les Éboulements, in Charlevoix. On October 13, 1997, a bus accident claimed the lives of 44 people.