First responders connected to Carberry bus tragedy given provincial honours

First responders who helped at the scene of a deadly 2023 bus crash have been given one of Manitoba’s highest honours.

Premier Wab Kinew announced Monday that a total of 134 people connected to the tragic incident near Carberry — including paramedics, firefighters, air ambulance pilots, RCMP officers, provincial call-takers and dispatchers — have been inducted into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

The crash, which killed 17 people on June 15 of last year, was the deadliest crash in Manitoba’s history.

“We want to honour those whose valour and heroism helped to embody the best of Manitobans,” Kinew said in a statement.

“When we think of the first responders and how they stepped up and answered the call that day and in a moment of challenge or a moment of danger, they went towards the crisis instead of running away.”

Representatives of Carberry North Cypress-Langford Fire and Rescue, the Neepawa Volunteer Fire Department, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and the Office of the Fire Commissioner attended a ceremony at the Manitoba Legislative Building Monday morning and accepted a statuette and certificate on behalf of all of the recipients.