A school bus crash north of Lac La Hache closed Highway 97 in both directions Friday afternoon.
B.C. Highway Patrol Cpl. Melissa Jongema said 100 Mile House RCMP were called to a bus crash on the highway near Butler Road at about 1 p.m. PT. She said the road is closed while responders assess injuries.
In an email to CBC News, BC Emergency Health Services spokesperson Brian Twaites said the bus crash was followed by a second incident in which a person was struck by a vehicle at the same location.
He said 11 ambulances and seven air ambulances were sent to the scene, along with local firefighters and police.
A photo posted to the Facebook group Williams Lake Speak Up appears to show a yellow school bus down an embankment along the highway.
Students on the bus were in grades 6 and 7 from 100 Mile Elementary and Horse Lake Elementary, on the way home from a field trip to Gavin Lake, according to Chris van der Mark, the superintendent of the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District.
Van der Mark was unable to say how many children were on the bus. However, he said that all staff and students had been accounted for and were being checked out by first responders on the scene. He could not confirm whether there were injuries.
He said the school district is working with police to ensure parents and guardians of the students on the bus are informed. Parents are being told to meet their kids at the South Cariboo Rec Centre in 100 Mile House, van der Mark said.
“Our biggest focus right now is just making sure that our staff and our students are okay,” he told CBC on Friday afternoon.
Radio West7:14Emergency crews respond to a school bus crash in the Cariboo near Lac La Hache
Emergency crews respond to a school bus crash in the Cariboo near Lac La Hache. We speak to a witness who got turned around as Highway 97 was shut down.
RCMP are asking people to avoid the area. Cindy Marcotte said she was driving home to Prince George when she was caught in traffic delays after the crash.
“I just feel sick for the families. I hope the kids are okay,” she said. “As a parent and a grandparent, it’s a terrible thing to be close to something this awful.”