Passengers escape through roof hatch after OC Transpo bus flips in collision

Ottawa firefighters say five people crawled to safety through the roof hatch of an OC Transpo bus after a two-vehicle collision that caused the bus to flip and land in a ditch, according to Ottawa Fire Services.

Emergency crews were called to the area of Leitrim and Bowesville roads near the Macdonald–Cartier International Airport just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday for the collision involving an OC Transpo bus and another vehicle.

While the passengers made their way to safety, firefighters crawled into the bus through the roof hatch to check on the driver before cutting through the windshield to rescue them about 10 minutes later.

Five passengers and the driver were assessed at the scene and refused to be taken to hospital, according to paramedics.

No one in the other vehicle was taken to hospital, paramedics said. A second OC Transpo bus was brought in to keep people warm.

Firefighters spread an absorbent material on fluids that were leaking from the bus.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but firefighters said the roads were icy at the time.