All of the remaining patients in hospital from a deadly Christmas Eve bus crash on Highway 97C in B.C. are expected to survive, according to an Interior Health official.
Michaela Swan, a spokesperson for the health authority, said seven people who were brought to three hospitals after a passenger bus rolled on the Highway 97C, also called the Okanagan Connector, on Saturday evening are still patients, down from eight on Sunday.
All seven have non-life threatening issues, after two patients previously listed as having serious conditions improved, Swan said on Monday.
Four people died and dozens of others were injured in the Ebus crash east of Merritt near the Loon Lake exit, which police said they suspect was caused by extremely icy road conditions.
Ebus cancelled all B.C. trips following the bus rollover that sent more than 50 people to hospitals.
No one from Ebus, the Alberta-based bus operator with multiple routes across B.C., was immediately available to comment on Monday. In a statement to CBC News, Ebus confirmed that B.C. services were suspended Dec. 26, due to poor weather and road conditions.
Ebus said customers will be refunded for their tickets within 72 hours.
On Sunday, RCMP confirmed that four people had died in the accident that involved no other vehicles. Police have not released the names of those who died.
As a result of the crash, Interior Health said in a statement Sunday that 52 people were sent to hospitals, of which 36 patients required medical treatment.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the incident prompted Interior Health to initiate Code Orange response to provide emergency care. Code Orange is generally used to describe a mass casualty or disaster situation at hospitals.
RCMP said Monday afternoon they were facing issues identifying all passengers who were on the bus. Due to the urgency of the situation, victims were transported to local hospitals and police said many left before they could be identified. While records of those who pre-booked tickets were available, the names of those who booked and boarded the bus at the time of departure have been difficult to confirm.
According to police, there were international tourists on the bus who are now trying to get their luggage back to leave the country. Police said they are working with Ebus to get them their luggage.
Source: cbc.ca
Saturday, April 18, 2026
