Ottawa police are responding to a serious crash involving a bus at the Westboro Station, which has left at least 17 people injured and an unspecified number of people dead.
The incident occurred just before 4 p.m. on Friday, according to Ottawa police. Paramedics tell CTV News' Annie Bergeron Oliver that the double-decker bus struck a bus shelter.
Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau confirmed that there are "some fatalities."
The Ottawa Hospital said in a tweet that its trauma centre is treating nine patients in critical condition.
OC Transpo, which runs Ottawa's public transit system, said in a tweet that buses are being detoured from the area.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said in a tweet that he was "shocked to hear of this horrific incident at Westboro Station," adding that residents should avoid the area to allow first responders access to victims.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford thanked the first responders in a tweet and said that he was "devastated to hear about those who lost their lives and were injured" in the crash.
Andrew Borle, an eyewitness, told CTV Ottawa that the bus appeared to be crowded at the time of the collision.
"I saw bodies flying out and it was pretty intense at the time," the eyewitness said. "People were screaming. I saw two or three bodies flying through the windshield of the bus."
Gabriel Rivett-Carnac, another eyewitness who lives across the street from the station, told CTV News' Annie Bergeron Oliver that "an unusual number of sirens" alerted him to the incident. He saw first responders cutting out seats from the top floor of the bus.
"I haven't seen something of this magnitude before," he said. "It's unnerving. I had gotten off a double-decker bus right here an hour before."
Comment:
UPDATE: More details have emerged: