Dozens of vehicles suffered accidents Friday due to a blizzard in southern Manitoba, and several hospitals are on alert.
There are multiple accidents everywhere
says Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Sergeant Paul Manaigre. The early afternoon will likely be very busy for our agents today.
An accident between several vehicles at the intersection of Fermor Avenue and Lagimodière Boulevard, south of Winnipeg, led to the area being closed to traffic for several hours.
In most of the accidents, there were no injuries, but I know that at Chemin Fermor, there were serious injuries. It started, it was just an accident between two cars, but the information I got was that the driver got out of the car and was hit by a third car. I don’t know his state of health.
Scene of chaos
Fifty to 60 collisions were reported between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., explains Paul Manaigre, adding that the tugboats have a lot of work.
There are hundreds of vehicles that have entered the ditch.
Chris Parks’ wife is among those involved in the Fermor Avenue crash. The man parked on the side of the road wanted to help him. She called me, she was on her way to work. His vehicle was upright, hood down between two semi-trailers. She’s lucky to still be alive. I walked over there, but the paramedics had already taken care of him. I was afraid of losing my wife
he says, still upset.
Winnipeg police are asking people to avoid the area of Fermor Avenue and Lagimodière due to an accident involving multiple vehicles.
Photo : Chris Parks
The man describes a scene of chaos. Visibility is completely blocked, we can’t see anything at all. There are approximately 12 vehicles, 2 or 3 semi-trailers and 7 or 8 cars in the ditch. We saw a body lying in the middle of the road.
Sergeant Paul Manaigre thinks that the number of injured will not be known today.
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A multi-vehicle crash has closed part of the Perimeter Highway south of Winnipeg.
Photo : Chris Parks
Road conditions and their status are kept up to date on the provincial website (New window).
The province also sent an emergency alert a little after noon.
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In an emergency alert sent by Manitoba, the population is asked to avoid driving on roads in the south of the province.
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An alert launched too late, according to the progressive-conservative opposition.This notification should have been sent out first thing this morning, when blizzard conditions had already begun to affect morning commutes
deplores Konrad Narth, deputy for La Vérendrye and spokesperson for the PC for transport.
A provincial spokesperson assures that the alert was sent due to numerous collisions between several vehicles on the provincial road network
adding that Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure had already issued a bulletin calling on motorists to drive safely.
He adds that the alert, sent almost entirely in English, is not yet translated by the Alert Ready system used in this scenario. Common practice is to broadcast in English to ensure the widest broadcast coverage. The service provider says work is underway to develop real-time translation.
Hospitals are preparing for an influx of injured people
The most significant damage was mainly outside of Winnipeg. Santé Sud has issued a code Orange at Sainte-Anne Hospital and Bethesda Regional Health Center, following a multi-vehicle collision near Sainte-Anne.
They notice a sudden influx of patients
confirmed a spokesperson for Shared Health.
The Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, which is the largest hospital in the province, has, for its part, triggered a code orange alert
around 10:45 a.m., after several collisions were reported outside of Winnipeg.
What is a code orange?
A Code Orange alert is triggered when a hospital or health system experiences a sudden influx of patients. A Code Orange Alert is essentially an alert to staff to prepare for the possibility of a Code Orange.
The number of injured and the severity of their injuries are still provisional, but we can confirm that a number of people have been or are being transported to various hospitals and health centers in the province
specifies the spokesperson.
Blizzard until Friday evening
Blizzard developed in parts of southern Manitoba this morning
announces Environment Canada, which issued a blizzard warning Friday morning.
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A pileup in the area of Fermor Avenue and Lagimodière Boulevard due to a blizzard hitting Manitoba.
Photo : Chris Parks
Very strong northerly winds gusting up to 90 km/h considerably reduce visibility in snow and blowing snow, especially in open areas in the countryside
explains Environment Canada.
The latter plans to lift the warning in the coming hours: The blizzard should gradually end late this afternoon or early this evening.
With information from Mathias Poisson and Josh Crabb
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