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Coquihalla clear

UPDATE: 4:44 p.m.

Drive BC reports that Highway five Northbound from Hope to Merritt is now open.

"Expect delays due to congestion," DriveBC tweeted.

Two passengers from the Westfalia van have been transported to hospital.

BC Emergency Health Services dispatched two ground ambulances and two helicopters to the scene.

The passengers were taken by ground ambulance to hospital in Merritt.

Both are expected to be airlifted to either Kamloops or Kelowna for further treatment.

The extent of their injuries is not known.

 


UPDATE: 4 p.m.

Witnesses say emergency crews are now on site at a serious crash near the Comstock exit on the Coquihalla Highway.

Eastbound traffic is completely halted, and one lane westbound is open.


ORIGINAL: 3 p.m.

A long-haul trucker navigating the Coquihalla Highway is reporting a serious accident just past the Comstock exit.

Marty Cole says an older model Westfalia Volkswagen van travelling east left the highway and rolled several times on the grassy median dividing the highway.

He says the vehicle was heavily damaged, and contents from the van were strewn all over the area.

The legs of one of the occupants were seen protruding from the windshield, while a dog, thrown from the vehicle, was being attended to.

Emergency vehicles were not yet on the scene when Cole passed the crash site.

A portion of the highway is expected to be closed.

Motorist Karissa Parsons told Castanet: "I could see a guy in a red shirt holding the passenger's neck from behind the seat."



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