B.C. bus crash: Recent arrival from Punjab among four dead in Christmas Eve tragedy

As police continue their investigation into a bus crash that killed four passengers and injured several others on Christmas Eve, family members here and in India are mourning the death of a man who just arrived in Canada on a work permit three months ago.

Kelowna RCMP confirmed four people died in the single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 97C near Loon Lake, east of Merritt on Saturday. The full bus was westbound when it rolled in icy conditions on to its passenger side, ending up in the eastbound lanes of highway that connects Kelowna to the Coquihalla Highway around 6 p.m.

Kalwinder Singh, a long-haul trucker from Surrey, said his cousin, Karanjot Singh Sodhi, 41, died in the crash, leaving his wife, a six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, in Punjab.

Singh, who is the same age as Sodhi and grew up with him in their hometown of Butala, said his family and the whole village are mourning his death.

“He has a big family,” said Singh. “The whole village is very upset.”