WINNIPEG — The three children of a Winnipeg couple who were killed in an ambulance collision while vacationing in Cuba are fundraising to help bring the bodies of their parents home and cover their funeral expenses.
Veronika Mayer says her parents, János and Rósza Boda, were at a resort in Cayo Coco last Thursday when her mother had chest pains and needed medical treatment.
Mayer says the ambulance carrying her parents crashed during the trip to hospital.
The couple were in Cuba to celebrating János’ 50th birthday.
Global Affairs Canada says consular officials in Cuba are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and assist the family.
Relatives expect the Bodas' remains to be returned to Canada in about two weeks.
Mayer had just finished an exam at the University of Manitoba last week when a Winnipeg police officer called her and delivered the tragic news about her parents.
"Basically he just told me what happened, and that they passed away in Cuba. I was just like 'is this a joke?''' said Mayer. "This stuff happens in movies, it doesn’t happen to you."
Zoltan Csupak, János' cousin, said the family has been working with the Canadian embassy in Cuba.
"This is like a nightmare. All we know is that there was the collision but we don't know any of the details and they died on site," he said.
Csupak said the family believes the crash was an accident and could have happened anywhere.
"I don't think there is any blame here. Something like this is unforeseen. Very tragic."
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Canadian Citizens who passed away in Cuba,” said Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Diana Khaddaj in an email to CTV News Sunday.
Rósza Boda, who was 51, was an elementary school teacher in Carman, south of Winnipeg, and an ambassador for the multicultural festival Folklorama who worked at the Hungarian pavilion.
Her husband worked in the IT department of the Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation.
Martina Mayer's two teenage siblings, Bettina and Martin Boda, are in high school and are being looked after by their sister and Csupak, who is their legal guardian.
Bettina, 16, said she will miss her parents' warmth and sense of humour.
"Her smile. Her laugh,” she said tearfully. "My daddy, he was always able to make me laugh when I was going through a hard time."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to collect donations for the family.
