Toronto, December 26
A Sikh man from Amritsar was among four dead and scores injured when a bus they were traveling in overturned on an icy highway in British Columbia on Christmas Eve, a local media outlet reported.
Although Canadian authorities have yet to confirm the identity of the deceased, the editor of a Punjabi newspaper in Surrey, Karanjot Singh Sodhi, 41, of Butala, Amritsar, was among those killed in the accident.
“One of the four people killed in a bus accident on the Vancouver-Kelowna route on December 24 was Karanjot Singh Sodhi, 41,” wrote Gurpreet S. Sahota, editor of the Surrey-based newspaper Akal Guardian, on his Twitter accounts.
Karanjot Singh Sodhi, 41, was one of four people killed in a Vancouver-Kelowna bus accident yesterday. Two of the more than 50 injuries are considered critical. He was from Butala (Amritsar) and had recently entered Canada on a work permit in September 2022. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ah3lW53qAW
— Gurpreet S. Sahota (@GurpreetSSahota) December 26, 2022
“He was from Butala (Amritsar) and had recently entered Canada on a work permit in September 2022,” Sahota said.
Sahota said Sodhi was employed as a chef at a winery restaurant in Okanagan.
2/2
He was employed as a chef at a winery restaurant in Okanagan. He left his wife, son and daughter in his village in Punjab. He traveled by bus believing it would be safe. https://t.co/cyIZuRdftE— Gurpreet S. Sahota (@GurpreetSSahota) December 26, 2022
“He left his wife, son and daughter in his village in Punjab. He traveled by bus believing it would be safe,” Sahota wrote in a series of tweets.
The bus crashed around 6 p.m. on Highway 97C east of Merritt, about 170 miles northeast of Vancouver. Eight people were still hospitalized as of Christmas Day, health officials said, and two of them are believed to be in serious condition.
British Columbia’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement that “extremely icy” road conditions along the highway caused the bus to roll over.
However, they added that an investigation has been launched into the exact cause of the accident and that the bus driver is assisting the police.
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the accident on Highway 97C last night, especially the families of the four people who tragically lost their lives,” Health Secretary Adrian Dix wrote on Twitter.
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the Highway 97C accident last night, especially the families of the four people who tragically lost their lives. @BCEHS transported 52 patients to 4 @InteriorHealth Hospitals with minor to life-threatening injuries. 8 patients remain on treatment this morning
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) December 25, 2022
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the Highway 97C accident last night, especially the families of the four people who tragically lost their lives. @BCEHS transported 52 patients to 4 @InteriorHealth Hospitals with minor to life-threatening injuries. 8 patients remain on treatment this morning
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) December 25, 2022
“Shocked and saddened by the news of a serious bus accident between Merritt and Kelowna on the Okanagan Connector. Our thoughts are with those affected, their families and the first responders and healthcare workers who are doing everything they can to treat people and keep them safe,” British Columbia Premier David Eby tweeted. IANS
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