One person has died and dozens of people have been injured in a highway crash just outside Hope, B.C.
British Columbia Emergency Health Services says it received a call at 9:48 a.m. for a multi-vehicle crash on the Coquihalla Highway, just north of the Highway 3 turnoff.
UPDATE - #BCHwy5 - Vehicle incident has the NB direction of the highway closed before Othello Rd. Crews are on scene, assessment in progress. Estimated time of re-opening not available. Next update at 1:00 PM, more info here: https://t.co/m8Tm3xHlHw#HopeBC
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) February 10, 2021
It says multiple paramedic crews were dispatched to the scene, including 13 ground, three air ambulances, several supervisor units and multi-patient transit buses.
Paramedics transported two patients to hospital by air in critical condition and three patients to hospital by ground in serious but stable condition.
Crews also cared for another 34 patients with non-life-threatening injuries at the scene, and are helping to transport more than 30 patients to a nearby warming station in Hope. The Coquihalla Highway is closed at the junction with Highway 3 and there is no word when the route will reopen.
Cpl. Mike Halskov with RCMP Traffic Services says the multi-vehicle crash happened just before 10 a.m.
Cpl Halskov says in a statement that an investigation is just beginning, but it appears road conditions were a major factor.
Halskov urges drivers to consider delaying travel plans or to take an alternate route.
DriveBC, the provincial government website providing details about road conditions, shows packed and slushy roads near the junction while Environment Canada says temperatures in the area feel close to -20 with the wind chill.
Photo courtesy of Istock.