UPDATE: 9 p.m., Highway 97C is open, again, after a multi-vehicle crash shut down the route 10 km east of Merritt. RCMP are still waiting for a report from investigators at the scene.
The B.C. Ambulance Service says one person was taken by ambulance to hospital.
RCMP shut down roads when there is a possible fatality involved in a crash.
The Coquihalla Highway northbound lanes remain closed until between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. Nov 17, following a transport crash that required clean-up.
UPDATE: Around 2:30 p.m., the Okanagan-Connector was closed in both directions east of Merritt due to a vehicle incident. A detour is available via Highway 5A north to Princeton for westbound traffic or the Coquihalla for eastbound traffic.
The Coquihalla was closed in both directions between Merritt and Hope for several hours on Monday due to a vehicle incident.
The highway partially reopened around 1:30 p.m. with one lane about 40 kilometres south of Merritt. Motorists are being advised to expect delays.
According to Drive B.C., the highway was shut down at Exit 286 at the Coldwater Interchange south of Merritt.
Meanwhile, a material spill has the highway closed at Hope. There is a detour at Hope to Highway 3 or Highway 1.
Another accident at Exit 250 near Larson Hill has caused a lane closure.
A witness to the accident south of Merritt, Adam Camley, told Global Okanagan the crash happened around 10 a.m.
“It was just ice. Just a sheet of ice. I literally left the scene and two minutes out of coming out of the scene, the road was more clear, it was just a really bad section of the highway,” says Camley.
Camley says he was driving through the area near the Coldwater Interchange when he saw several vehicles flip into a ditch and two semi-trucks sliding into each other.
He says some drivers were travelling too fast for the road conditions.
“It was pretty bad. Even when officers were trying to get vehicles out of there, there were people just hauling and still doing 80 to 100 to 120 kilometres per hour,” says Camley.
RCMP are on scene and say the highway will be closed for most of the day.
While there are several spun out vehicles on the highway, no serious injuries have been reported.
Environment Canada says close to 50 centimetres of snow has fallen on the Coquihalla since Friday afternoon.
Another 15 to 25 centimetres is expected Monday night mixed with rain Tuesday morning.
More snow is expected Tuesday afternoon and evening.
~ With files from Jordan Armstrong
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