Emergency officials are warning drivers to avoid highways 1 and 97A around Sicamous, about 100 kilometres east of Kamloops, after a semi-truck crashed from the Bruhn Bridge into the Mara Lake.
The truck has been submerged since the incident happened just before 7 a.m. PT. The bridge is closed in both directions and a detour was set up via Highway 97A and Highway 97B, DriveBC said.
However, traffic on Highway 97A is now down to a single lane due to another vehicle incident around four kilometres south of Sicamous, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) said at 11 a.m. PT. The district has advised people to “avoid the area completely if possible.”
⛔️REMINDER <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCHwy1</a> – the RW Bruhn Bridge in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sicamous?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Sicamous</a> is closed due to a vehicle incident.<br>Expect delays there and on <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy97A?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCHwy97A</a> as traffic is down to single lane alternating near Swansea Rd due to a vehicle incident.<br>ℹ️<a href=”https://t.co/qmtl20Wf4S”>https://t.co/qmtl20Wf4S</a><br>ℹ️<a href=”https://t.co/7HNruZKKzL”>https://t.co/7HNruZKKzL</a> <a href=”https://t.co/0DacldyALn”>pic.twitter.com/0DacldyALn</a>
—@DriveBC
The B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) told CBC News that it dispatched two ground ambulances to the initial scene of the semi-truck crash after receiving a call about the incident at 6:53 a.m. PT.
The truck driver’s status is unclear, but the BCEHS said in its statement just before 10:30 a.m. that paramedics did not transport any patients to hospital.
The Shuswap Emergency Program and the District of Sicamous are responding and a dive team has been deployed, the CSRD said.
The incident appears to have caused diesel fuel to spill in the water, officials said.
Tracy Hughes, the district’s co-ordinator, told CBC News that the truck fell into the Mara Lake side of the bridge in an area locally known as the Sicamous Channel, where Mara Lake and Shuswap Lake meet.
B.C.’s ministry of environment told CBC News that an environmental emergency response officer is attending the site, but the details of the truck’s contents and potential environmental impacts have not been determined as of 10:24 a.m. PT.
In addition, the CSRD is asking the public to avoid the area so that emergency responders can work. The district says Sicamous Fire Rescue reported that some people went into the water to retrieve items from the truck, something it is asking people not to do.