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Three people are dead and 16 others were injured in a collision involving a city bus in Calgary on Thursday, according to officials.
The fiery, fatal crash happened just after 1 p.m. in the city’s northeast community of Saddle Ridge.
Three people were declared dead at the scene. Ten were transported to hospital via ambulance, with one in life-threatening condition and nine others in non-life-threatening condition.
Five others were assessed for non-life-threatening injuries at the scene, and were later transported to hospital for further assessment.
A Calgary Police Service member also sustained minor injuries.
The fire occurred on the 800 block of Saddletowne Circle N.E., near the neighbourhood’s fire station.
The collision involved two city buses and multiple vehicles, Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward said during a press conference on Thursday.
“I’ve been a police officer 36 years, and I think this is probably the biggest scene I’ve worked on in relation to the collision that we’ve got here,” he said.
WATCH | Witness captures video of city bus on fire:
3 killed in bus fire in northeast Calgary
A City of Calgary bus fire on Oct. 15, 2026, left three people dead and several others injured. Maxwell Calinisan was nearby when the incident occurred and captured this video.
Fire crews initially responded to reports of a motor vehicle collision, but pivoted to a fire response when they realized one of the buses was aflame, Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said. In total, 12 units responded.
A hazardous materials unit was also called to the scene, Dongworth said, as the bus on fire ran on liquid natural gas.
“It was fairly involved,” Dongworth said. “It wasn’t a catastrophic fire, but it was a serious fire inside, particularly the liquid natural gas bus, not surprisingly. There was also a small fire in the other bus.”
The driver of the second bus was trapped and needed to be extricated, Dongworth added.
‘It was just burning everything’
Maxwell Calinisan was in a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart when store staff told him and other customers there was a fire nearby and they would need to evacuate to the store’s parking lot.
“When we first came out, I looked to my left and the fire was just on the bus, and then we just ran as far as possible in the parking lot,” he told CBC News.
“The fire was pretty much on top of the bus,” he said. “It was just burning everything.”
Emergency crews arrived soon after, he said.
Both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas offered their condolences in separate social media posts.
Police continue to investigate the cause of the incident.
Access to Saddletowne Circle is closed for “a significant amount of time,” police said, advising people to avoid the area.