In the span of less than two hours on Friday afternoon, two separate fatal crashes in the Battlefords area left five people dead and a handful of survivors seriously injured.
At 12:45 on Friday afternoon, a truck and a van collided on Highway #4 just south of Cochin, Sask. RCMP, EMS, STARS and local fire crews responded.
Two young boys — five and six years old — from Flying Dust First Nation died at the scene, along with a 48-year-old woman also from Flying Dust First Nation.
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The man driving the truck and a woman who had been a passenger in the van were both taken to hospital with serious injuries.
“Battlefords RCMP thank everyone who assisted at the scene,” the RCMP said in a news release on Saturday.
Barely an hour and a half later that day, 40 kilometres south on the same highway, the RCMP and local emergency crews were called to another deadly two-vehicle crash.
This time, they found a motorhome and an SUV that had collided just south of Battleford.
A 29-year-old woman and a six-month old baby boy who had been travelling in the SUV, both from Red Pheasant First Nation, died at the scene.
The other two passengers in the SUV, a man and a boy, were hospitalized with serious injuries.
The driver and passenger in the motorhome were also hospitalized with “non-life threatening” injuries.
The RCMP says their “thoughts are with the families during this difficult time,” while the investigations into both collisions continue.
Meanwhile, the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs says it will be arranging critical incident supports “due to the tragic events affecting the surrounding First Nations,” and encouraged community members to call a crisis line, an Elder or the local mental health nurse if they need support.
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If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566), Saskatoon Mobile Crisis (306-933-6200), Prince Albert Mobile Crisis Unit (306-764-1011), Regina Mobile Crisis Services (306-525-5333) or the Hope for Wellness Help Line, which provides culturally competent crisis intervention counselling support for Indigenous peoples (1-855-242-3310).
In the Battlefords, additional supports include the Atoskewin Success Centre Elder Support Contact (306-480-2521) and Battlefords Union Hospital Mental Health (306-446-6500).
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