14 People Killed After Bus Carrying Humboldt Broncos Hockey Team Hit By Truck

Fourteen people have been killed after a bus carrying a junior hockey team to a playoff game collided with a tractor trailer.

The bus was carrying the Humboldt Broncos and was about 300 kilometers north of Regina when it happened. Fourteen people, including the driver, were killed, while another fourteen were rushed to hospital—three are in critical condition.

The Broncos were on their way to Nipawin for their fifth game in a semi-final playoff series between the small Saskatchewan community and Humboldt. Humboldt itself is located about an hour east of Saskatoon. The teams play in the Saskatchewan Junior hockey league which is eligible for North American-born players between the age of 16 and 20.

The president of the Nipawin team told the Globe and Mail that the accident occured when a semi-trailer T-boned the bus.

“Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the families of our staff and athletes as well as to all who have been impacted by this horrible tragedy,” said the president of the Humboldt Broncos organization, Kevin Garinger in a statement. “Our Broncos family is in shock as we try to come to grips with our incredible loss.”

Garinger told the Globe and Mail that the team still doesn’t know who on the team was killed in the accident and said that parents of the players are rushing to Saskatchewan from all over Canada.

Justin Trudeau sent out a tweet offering his condolences to the community late Friday night, writing, “I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, in the Humboldt community and beyond.” Saskatchewan Premier, Scott Moe, wrote on Facebook, saying “to the City of Humboldt, the entire Broncos organization, and the families impacted by this tragedy, please know you are in Saskatchewan's hearts."

The crash has brought back memories of a similar accident from the 80s in which a bus carrying the Swift Current Broncos crashed in 1986, killing four.

A Go Fund Me campaign has raised $75,000 for the team and their families in the last twelve hours.

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