Seven members of a Canadian high school boys' basketball team and the wife of the coach were killed when their van collided with a truck as they returned from a game.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Derek Strong said the Bathurst High School basketball players, all between the ages of 15 and 18, and their coach's wife died after their van crossed the median on a slippery highway and hit the truck shortly after midnight on Saturday.
"The sudden loss of eight people in this unthinkable accident shocked the nation and all Canadians join you in mourning their passing," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a letter of condolence to the school's principal.
They were about to meet with the players' parents at a fast-food restaurant in Bathurst after a three-hour trip from Moncton when the coach lost control of the car. The coach, his daughter and two team members survived the crash.
Strong said that the force of the collision sliced open one side of the van and threw benches and passengers from the van. Hours later, the benches were still lying in the snow.
The van was equipped with seatbelts but investigators did not know if they were used.
Highway 11 was slippery after a storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain on much of the province, said Strong.
Lydia Dupere, a spokeswoman for the Acadie-Bathurst Health Authority, said three people were still in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A fourth person had been treated for injuries and released. The truck driver was not hurt.
Names of the victims have not been officially released. But, Emily Cleland said her brother Nathan died in the crash.
"He was my best friend, my whole life," Cleland said. "He was always so protective of me."
Bathhurst High School superintendant John McLaughin called the city "a whole community in mourning."
"It's unthinkable what happened and everyone's trying to make some sense of it," he said.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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