SCOUTS travelling on a coach in Canada were last night involved in a head-on crash with a lorry.
Sixteen people were taken to hospital after the tour bus collided with the lorry in eastern Ontario shortly after 6pm. The bus came to rest in a ditch by the side of the road.
The passengers were part of a group of 102 Scouts and leaders from west
Lancashire who were on an adventure-based trip to Canada for about a week.
Simon Carter, a spokesman for the Scout Association said none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening. The youngsters are believed to be aged between 14 and 18 and their leaders were also on the bus.
He said: "They were travelling back to Toronto in two coaches
. One of the coaches was involved in a crash with what appears to be an articulated lorry.
"Some young people sustained injuries. Fortunately none of them are life-threatening – they are cases of broken bones and shock."
Mr Carter said the association was attempting to contact the scouts' parents.
Mark Boileau, a City of Kawartha Lakes constable, described damage to the vehicles as "excessive".
He said it was not yet known if weather was a factor. "It was raining prior to the accident but that will be determined by the investigation," he added.
The British High Commission in Ottawa said it had dispatched staff to the scene.
The full article contains 244 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
