OTTAWA, Ontario — Police say five people are dead after a passenger train collided with a city bus at a crossing in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, at the peak of morning rush hour. Witnesses say the bus went through a closed crossing barrier.

Photos show the front end of the double-decker bus was ripped off by the impact with the Via Rail.

It was Canada’s worst accident since an oil train derailed and exploded in a Quebec town in July, killing dozens of people.

A number of bus passengers were injured Wednesday, Ottawa Fire spokesman Mark Messier told CP24 television. Via Rail posted a message on Twitter saying there were no reports of major injuries to passengers or crew on the train.

Via Rail canceled on its Ottawa-Toronto route after the accident, which occurred just outside a suburban train station in the city’s west end. Via Rail identified the station as Fallowfield.

Pascal Lolgis, who witnessed the accident, said the bus appeared to drive through a lowered crossing barrier.

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“Boom! It went into the train like that,” Lolgis said. “”He just didn’t stop.”

Another witness, Mark Cogan, said the rail barrier was down.

“The train is going through,” Cogan said. “And I was just looking around, just watching things happen. And noticed that in the bus lane, the double-decker bus … I saw him, and he just kept going.

“I just thought maybe there’s a side way around or something, but instantly, he just … he smoked the train. He went through the guard rail and just hammered the train, and then it was just mayhem.”

The tracks in the area cross a major city street and a transit line reserved for buses only.

Rescue crews swarmed over the wreckage. The injured from the bus who could walk were taken to a second bus nearby to be treated by paramedics.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted a message on Twitter saying he was deeply saddened by the accident and his thoughts and prayers were with the families of those involved.


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