A collision between a Via Rail train and a double-decker bus in south Ottawa has caused multiple deaths, firefighters say.
The OC Transpo bus was travelling north on the Transitway, and Train 51 en route to Toronto was heading west when the collision occurred.
Firefighters say the crash happened at 8:48 a.m. ET near the intersection of Woodroffe Avenue and Fallowfield Road.
The front end of the bus suffered significant damage, firefighters added.
Bus appeared to ignore warning signals, witnesses say
Witnesses said the bus appeared to ignore warning signals at the crossing. Via Rail said there were no major injuries reported on the train, but it suspended its Ottawa-Toronto service.
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 didn't stop. He must have lost his brakes. Or he had an … attack or whatever.
"He just didn't stop. He just keep going like that. Then he get hit."
A Via Rail train struck an OC Transpo bus on the Transitway in south Ottawa Wednesday morning. (Google Maps)
Another witness, Mark Cogan, said the rail barrier was down.
"The train is going through," Cogan said. "And I was just looking around, just watching things happen. And noticed that in the bus lane, the double-decker bus … I saw him and he just kept going.
"I just thought maybe there's a side way around or something but instantly he just … he smoked the train. He went through the guard rail and just hammered the train and then it was just mayhem."
Rescue crews swarmed over the mangled wreckage bus as ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles flooded the scene.
Walking injured from the bus were taken to a second bus on the opposite side of the tracks to be treated by paramedics.
'It's a brutal, brutal thing'
David Hugill was on board the Via train when it crashed.
"It's horrible. What can I say? It was really undramatic on the train. It certainly didn't feel like it was an incident of that magnitude from where we were sitting," said Hugill.
"It's a brutal, brutal thing."
All of Ottawa's first responders are at the crash. Transport Canada officials and Transportation Safety Board investigators have also arrived at the crash scene.
Woodroffe Avenue is closed in both directions between Fallowfield and Slack roads.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, police Chief Charles Bordeleau and the head of OC Transpo John Manconi are expected to hold a news conference later Wednesday.
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