OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Several
people were killed when a passenger train collided with a city bus at a
crossing in Canada's capital, Ottawa, at the peak of morning rush hour,
police said Wednesday. Witnesses said the bus went through a closed
crossing barrier.
Photos show 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, said the rail barrier was down.
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