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

By Canadian Press on February 14, 2025.

MONTREAL — Several people are recovering in hospital after a bus carrying a junior swim team collided with a heavy truck in Quebec’s Laurentians region on Thursday.

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 taken to hospital out of about 30 on board, and that their injuries are not life-threatening. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

The head of Quebec’s swim federation says the injured include five swimmers between the age of 12 and 17, as well as a coach.

Francis Ménard says the bus was carrying members of a swim team from Val-d’Or, in northwestern Quebec, to a competition in Blainville, north of Montreal.

He says the federation has decided to continue the competition after consulting the athletes, and is working on a plan to make sure everyone gets home safe with another major storm set to hit the province on Sunday.

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

The Canadian Press