Three people remain in critical condition after a tour bus operated by a Richmond-based company rolled over on the Coquihalla Highway last week.
The bus — contracted by Super Vacation, headquartered on Anderson Road, just northeast of Granville Avenue and No. 3 Road, and claims to be the largest Chinese tour operator in North America — appeared to lose control before rolling into a ditch on the highway just south of Merritt last Thursday.
Health officials have said the victims of the crash are improving in hospital; however, three people remain in critical condition.
Two of the patients were in serious condition and 22 remained in hospital, as of Monday. Eight of them are being treated at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, while 14 are at Kelowna Hospital. The rest are scattered across Metro Vancouver hospitals.
RCMP have said the bus rolled into a ditch Thursday afternoon, ejecting multiple passengers and leaving all 56 people aboard with varying injuries.
Police say dash-cam footage, captured by a truck traveling behind the bus, indicates speed was likely not a factor, leaving human error or mechanical failure as possible causes.
A spokesman for Super Vacation said the bus was returning to Vancouver from a trip to the Rocky Mountains when it rolled over.
Most of the passengers on the bus were tourists from the U.S. and Southeast Asia, said the company's director of services Nick Kam, who noted his company chartered the bus from Western Bus Lines.
"I would like to emphasize this is one of the most mainstream bus companies," said Kam, speaking to English and Chinese media from his office in Richmond.
He said he had little information on the condition of the bus driver.
"The driver is a Caucasian and very experienced," said Kam.
He said Super Vacation has since assisted families reunite with one another as passengers were sent to different hospitals in the Interior, such as Kamloops and Kelowna.
"We try our own best to assist the customers," said Kam.
Kam said eight to 10 people were working in the Richmond offices Thursday night to find the locations of each customer. He said he has received many calls from families.
Ten people were listed as sustaining serious injuries.
RCMP Sgt. Brian Nightingale said the dash-cam footage, captured by a truck traveling behind the bus, indicates speed was likely not a factor, leaving human error or mechanical failure as possible causes.
“It’s more an issue that the driver drove into the centre median and then veered too hard trying to get onto the road,” Nightingale said.
“We’re doing mechanical (inspections) today on the bus, so that will rule out any kind of mechanical factors, like steering and braking and that kind of stuff.”
With a file from Alan Campbell
