A fatality inquiry is underway into the deaths of three people on a tour bus that tumbled down a steep embankment at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park.
Fourteen others were seriously injured after the Ice Explorer lost control on a road leading to the Athabasca Glacier, located about 100 kilometres southeast of the Jasper townsite, on July 18, 2020.
The bus rolled about 50 metres down before coming to rest on its roof.
RCMP did not lay criminal charges, but bus operator Brewster Inc. pleaded guilty to two charges under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The company was fined $475,000 for failing to mandate seatbelts and failing to control hazards.
Picture taken at the Columbia Icefield in Alberta Saturday, July 18, 2020, the same day an off-road bus rolled, killing three people and injuring several others.
Courtesy, Susan Andrew
The icefield tours were paused, resuming after the operator added seatbelts to the buses and made changes to training for its drivers.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
A fatality inquiry cannot assign blame but makes recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
Justice Vaughn Myers is expected to hear about brake inspections and maintenance of the bus carrying those who died, who have been identified as 24-year-old Dionne Durocher of North Battleford, Sask., 28-year-old Griva Patel of Edmonton and 58-year-old Kamleshbai Patel, from India.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
