Three Dead and 19 Injured as Two Calgary Transit Buses Catch Fire in Chain Reaction Crash

CALGARY. Three people were killed and 19 others were injured on Thursday afternoon when a chain reaction crash in northeast Calgary left two city transit buses on fire, police said.

Officers were called at about 1:11 p.m. local time to the 800 block of Saddletowne Circle N.E., a busy street in the city's north end. Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward said a transit bus first struck a car, and the car then hit other vehicles. The bus kept going through the intersection and struck a second transit bus that was parked at a bus stop. The second bus caught fire. It ran on natural gas, which police believe fueled the blaze. The burning bus was pushed across the road and collided with three more vehicles.

Three dead, 19 hurt

Calgary police confirmed that three people were declared dead. One person had life altering injuries and one had serious injuries, the police service said in its first official update. EMS spokesperson Adam Loria said 19 people were injured in all, and 10 of them were taken to hospital by ambulance, apart from the three who died. A Calgary police officer was also hurt and taken to hospital with minor injuries. One of the bus drivers had to be freed from a vehicle and had serious injuries.

Video shared online showed one bus engulfed in flames, with heavy smoke rising over the street, while the other bus had a crumpled front end. Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said a large number of crews answered the call, with as many as a dozen fire apparatus at the scene at the height of the response. Police and fire stations near the crash site helped crews reach the area fast.

A veteran officer calls it one of the biggest scenes of his career

Woodward, who has 36 years of experience as a police officer, called the crash one of the biggest collision scenes he has worked. The crash shut down the street around midday and kept investigators at the site for hours.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he was heartbroken over the deaths and injuries, and he confirmed that a full investigation will follow. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also offered condolences to the families of the people killed and injured. Calgary Transit director Sharon Fleming said the immediate priority was the safety and care of the passengers and transit operators involved in the crash.

Police said the cause of the fire and the sequence of the crash remain under investigation. The names of the three people who died had not been released on Thursday.