Maria Amumu: At Least 14 Members Of Junior Hockey Team Dead After Horrific Bus Crash In Saskatchewan

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

At Least 14 Members Of Junior Hockey Team Dead After Horrific Bus Crash In Saskatchewan

Such a horrific piece of news to wake up to on a Saturday morning.

A small western Canadian town of only about 6,000 people has been absolutely devastated this morning after learning that at least 14 members of the town's junior hockey league team died in a bus accident while traveling to a playoff game.

The 16-21 year-old hockey players wer playing for the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, and were on the way to a playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks in Saskatchewan when the accident occurred.

Details about the accident are few, but it apparently involved the bus and an 18-wheeler tractor trailer.

Names of the dead haven't all been released pending notification of family members this morning, but more and more news is trickling in via social media, and the reports are all very, very grim.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police first released a statement about the incident (below):

"We can now confirm fourteen people have died as a result of this collision. The other fourteen people were sent to hospital with a variety of injuries; three of these people have injuries that are critical in nature. We are not confirming the identity of the victims at this time, including whether the deceased are players or coaches. We will be working with our partner agencies to ensure families are notified as soon as possible and the appropriate supports are provided to families and others who are impacted by this extremely tragic incident."

And social media reaction has been pouring out all day (below):

Derek Grayson and Nick bonding and healing in hospital pic.twitter.com/DzesIoT27B
— R J patter (@rjpatter) April 7, 2018

This picture was just sent to us by a witness at the Humboldt Broncos crash. STARS dispatched, RCMP on scene. #sask #SJHL pic.twitter.com/vp4jbC8pUz
— Chris Vandenbreekel (@Vandecision) April 7, 2018

I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, in the Humboldt community and beyond. https://t.co/2cIn2CTy08
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) April 7, 2018

Words can not describe the loss that we feel tonight.

From a grieving province, thank you to first responders & medical professionals for courageous response under the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

Tonight, we all must pray for these families.https://t.co/dEnhKMkDxJ
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) April 7, 2018

Ugh.

So unbelievably heartbreaking.

A GoFundMe page set up to support the team and its families has been set up after the accident; in just over 14 hours, it's already raised more than $500,000 from around the world. If you wish to contribute, you can do so HERE.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and loved ones of these young men during this unimaginably difficult time.

[Image via Twitter.]