8 dead following road collision in New Brunswick, Canada

January 13, 2008

A deadly road crash in New Brunswick, Canada has claimed the lives of eight people near the city of Bathurst on Saturday. A van carrying 12 people was returning from a school basketball game in Moncton when it slid on an icy highway and collided with a semi-trailer truck.

Of the dead, seven were members of the Bathurst High School boys basketball team and the other was a teacher, the van driver's wife. The survivors are three teammates and a coach who was driving the van, all of whom were hospitalised at Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst. The driver of the semi-trailer was uninjured. The crash occurred on New Brunswick Route 8 as it approached the junction with Route 11 into Bathurst.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his shock and condolences, describing the tragedy as "unthinkable". New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham also expressed his condolences.