Bus with 37 Chinese tourists crashes in Canada

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – A bus carrying 37 Chinese tourists crashed into a rocky embankment along Canada’s major highway Monday, leaving four people with vital signs absent at the scene and sending dozens to hospitals.

The collision occurred around 2:30 p.m. EST along Highway 401 at Prescott, Ontario, about 100 kilometers southwest of the Canadian capital of Ottawa.

Two emergency air ambulances (helicopters) as well as land ambulances attended the scene and the victims were transported to several area hospitals. A school bus was also used to help transport victims.

Mandarin and Cantonese interpreters have been dispatched.

The Union Tour Express bus was heading to Toronto after a stop in Ottawa. The company caters to Chinese tourists. Passengers were five days into a 10-day tour that began in Washington, D.C.

There has been no official word from authorities as to how many survived the crash, although it is known that a number of people are in critical and serious condition.

The westbound lanes of the highway have been closed.