Carberry crash investigators are leaning on lessons learned from the Humboldt Broncos tragedy

Manitoba RCMP is turning to their counterparts in Saskatchewan for help investigating a mass casualty accident in western Manitoba that draws comparisons to the 2018 Humboldt Broncos tragedy.

“This incident has echoes of the tragic collision that took place in Humboldt, Sask. And we are well aware of that,” said Manitoba RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson at a press conference Thursday.

A collision between a semi-trailer and a bus killed 15 people near Carberry, Man, on Thursday. The bus, which was carrying 25 people, mostly senior citizens, was headed to Sand Hills Casino, about 12 miles away.

Lasson said Manitoba RCMP is in contact with some of the primary Saskatchewan investigators in the Humboldt crash.

“We are leaning on RCMP in Saskatchewan who have unfortunately been through this before,” he said at the conference.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 injured in April 2018 when a bus transporting the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team to a playoff game collided with a semi-trailer on a rural highway in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan coroner’s office initially used photos and information from the team to match the bodies by name, but when an injured player woke up in hospital saying he wasn’t the player everyone thought he was, the officials that they had made a mistake.

By then, his name was already on a press release from the coroner’s office and the RCMP.

“We have to make sure we have accurate IDs before we notify the next of kin. That’s why it takes some time. We don’t want to make that mistake,” Lasson said at the conference.

“We have to get everything right. It’s critical.”

No relatives of the deceased had been notified by Thursday night, Lasson later said in an interview with CBC News. Investigators are working closely with the medical examiner’s office, he added.

Support for families, first responders needed

Tracy Muggli, who was one of the first crisis workers on the scene in Humboldt after the crash, spoke to CBC Thursday afternoon.

“The very first thing that came to my mind was the Humboldt tragedy,” says Muggli, the former director of mental health and addiction services for the Saskatoon Health Region.

“I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God, you know, who’s involved? What happened? Who needs support, and how is the community going to be able to sort this out in the next few days? respond?'” she said.

Part of that support, Muggli said, is making sure families have the latest information.

“People really felt like they needed information, so they even had the right kind of people available to transfer information back and forth, including in the healthcare facilities,” she said.

Authorities also need to ensure long-term support is in place, as the effects on people’s mental health can appear long after a traumatic event has occurred, Muggli added.

“Create a plan that will keep you active longer than you think you need to,” she said. “You really have to think about, ‘OK, who all is affected here and how can we support those people.'”

Those affected are likely to include aid workers, Muggli said.

“They can be, you know, good to go for a day or two, but when there’s suddenly time to decompress, that can be a really hard time because you start thinking about what you saw and what you heard and the experience you had.”

But it’s also important to remember that everyone reacts differently to tragedy, Muggli said.

“Everyone is affected as much as they need to be, and that’s OK.”