VANCOUVER, B.C. — Chief councillor Robert Dennis Sr. has called for an urgent government safety meeting after the death of two University of Victoria students in a bus crash over the weekend.
Dennis Sr, of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, said the 85-kilometre stretch of logging road from Port Alberni to Bamfield that the bus carrying 48 people was travelling along was known to be dangerous.
“We live in a remote part of Vancouver Island, connected to larger communities by a logging road. We have known for a long time of the safety issues related to this road,” Dennis Sr. said.
“ Huu-ay-aht First Nation has been actively trying to work with all levels of government to address the safety challenges this vital link poses for its citizens and others who travel the road.”
The tragedy occurred on Friday night as the Wilson’s Transportation charter bus was travelling south toward the remote Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre to drop 45 university students off for a study program. The route takes about two hours to complete and is very windy and narrow in parts. The bus was about half way to Bamfield when it went over an embankment and rolled onto its side and roof. Two students were killed, two critically injured, one seriously injured and 14 people were hurt, including the driver.
Dennis Sr. said the accident “highlights the need for an immediate meeting with the province to discuss what can be done to ensure that there is a safe route between Bamfield and Port Alberni.”
“Safety on this road is one of our primary concerns as Nation,” he said. “Too many lives have already been lost.”
Dennis Sr. went on to thank all the emergency responders that had attended the scene, including the Port Alberni RCMP, paramedics, firefighters, search and rescue volunteers and air support from the 442 Squadron Comox.
“Our hearts are heavy,” he said. “One of our three sacred principals is Hišuk ma ćawak (Everything is One), and it is our belief that we are all connected. As a community we want to offer our condolences to everyone involved in this incident.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
