Several hurt after bus carrying young swimmers collides with heavy truck in Quebec

MONTREAL — Several people were recovering from injuries on Friday after a bus carrying a junior swim team collided with a heavy truck in Quebec’s Laurentians region during a snowstorm.

Quebec provincial police say they were called to the crash in Mont-Laurier, Que., on Thursday afternoon as a winter storm brought heavy snow across the province.

Police say six people were hospitalized out of about 30 on board, and their injuries are not life-threatening. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, but a provincial police spokesman said the bad weather could have played a role.

A swim club in northwestern Quebec confirmed in a Facebook post that its swimmers had been involved in the collision while travelling to a competition near Montreal.

“The Val-d’Or Marsouins swimming club was shaken this Thursday, Feb. 13 following an accident involving the bus that was taking us to the Junior Quebec Cup in Blainville,” club president Normand Pouliot wrote. “Our 25 swimmers, head coach, parents and bus driver are out of danger.”

Pouliot said most of the victims had only suffered minor injuries and would return to Val d’Or on Friday, adding that some of the more seriously injured had needed surgery.

Francis Ménard, the head of Quebec’s swim federation, says the injured include five swimmers between the ages of 12 and 17, as well as a coach. Some of them suffered fractures, he added.

Ménard said the initial shock around the accident has turned into a wave of solidarity for the injured swim team members, including a minute of applause at the competition on Friday morning.

“We’re getting a lot of photos being taken at different competition sites of athletes who are sending messages of support, photos on social media to support the Val-d’Or club and show their friendship and their support as a swimming community,” he said in a phone interview. He says the federation decided to continue the competition after consulting the coaches and athletes.

He said the different clubs are also working on a plan to make sure everyone gets home safely with another major storm set to hit the province on Sunday — the day the competition ends. He said some teams may need to leave early, and the schedule will be adjusted as needed.

He said the youth who were heading back to Val d’Or would be met by a “large greeting committee” of health, social services and school representatives. “I think there will be a big wave of solidarity for the young people returning to Val d’Or in the next hours,” he said.

A spokesperson for the health authority in the Laurentian region confirmed that almost 30 people were evaluated at the Mont-Laurier hospital following the crash, but only one remained in the hospital as of late Friday morning. She could not confirm their condition, and also did not have any information on patients sent to other hospitals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2025.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press