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Death toll rises to 15 in Canada bus crash

Death toll rises to 15 in Canada bus crash

The Broncos team

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The bus collided with a semi-trailer truck in rural Saskatchewan province leaving three critically injured as well

The death toll for the Canadian bus crash, carrying 28 people, rose to 15 on Sunday. The bus was also carrying players of a junior league hockey team have died too. 

The bus collided with a semi-trailer truck in rural Saskatchewan province leaving three critically injured -  in the accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus, which was heading north for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police inspector Ted Monroe had said at a news conference late Friday that there were "fatalities among the passengers on the bus" and "a number of serious injuries".

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"It is a significant accident, we had a tractor-trailer and a bus collide," Monroe told reporters, declining to go into further detail about the victims.

Police said the crash took place about 28 kilometers (18 miles) north of Tisdale, Saskatchewan as the bus was travelling on highway 35.

"This is much bigger than anyone can begin to imagine," Broncos team president Kevin Garinger told the Canadian broadcaster CBC. "We are just in utter disbelief and shock at the loss that's fallen upon us."

The Broncos team is comprised of 24 players, all from Canada, with the youngest aged 16 and the oldest 21.
Earlier on Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also issued a statement to offer his condolences for the departed.

"An entire country is in shock and mourning today as we learn more about the tragic bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured many more", as per the official statement.

He extended his support to the victims' families by saying, "To the entire Humboldt community: We are here for you. As neighbours, as friends, and as Canadians, we grieve alongside you."