Driver dies after semi-truck crashes through bridge, plunges into B.C. lake

The driver of asemi-trailer truck is dead after the vehicle plunged 18 metres off a highway bridge into a lakenearSicamous,B.C., on Saturday, police said.

Officials said Sunday afternoon the driver's bodyand the vehicle's wreckage have both been recovered from the scene at the Bruhn Bridge on Highway 1, about 100 kilometres east of Kamloops.

Sicamous RCMP said in a news release around 2:45 p.m. PT. Saturday that they responded to the incident around 6:45 a.m. PT. Police believe the driver wasthe only person inside the truck.

The Columbia ShuswapRegional District (CSRD)and Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson saythey wish to share theircondolences with the driver's family and friends.

"It's tragic, and our thoughts are with them right now," Andersonsaid.

The driver has yet to be publicly identified.

The BruhnBridge wasclosed in both directions after the incident and reopened in the afternoon under controlled conditions with a speed limit of 30 km/h, according to DriveBC.

"It's a major transportation route," Andersonsaid. "Our goods and service supplies go down [Highway] 1,so it'simperative that we get that open and moving."

The CSRD added that repairs will begin on thebridge on Monday, after the RCMP reported thatthe bridge deck sustained "significant damage."

There areplansto replace theBruhn Bridge, whichis over 60 years old, with a new structure that could support four lanes. The province'sproject website states that construction is expected to start this fall.

Anderson told CBC News on Sunday that she "doesn't see any changes" to that plan due to the crash. But she said it's still important to repair the currentbridge since thenew one is expected to take aroundthree years to build.

"I think it's still full steam ahead," she said. "It's a project that needs to move forward."

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement to CBC News Sunday afternoonthat its staffare still investigating the damageto the bridge and are currently unable to comment on whether this changes the scope and timeline of the project.

Tracy Hughes, the CSRD's communications coordinator,told CBC News that the truck fell into the Mara Lakeside of the bridge into the Sicamous Channel, where Mara Lake and Shuswap Lake meet.

The province'sMinistry of Environment continuesto assess the impact of diesel spilled from the truck and work on clean-up measures Sunday, the CSRD said. Ithas alsosaid that Interior Health wasalerted about the spill, but there doesn't appear to be a significant risk to the area's drinking water supplies.

The truck's cargo also doesn't pose any public health hazard, according to the district.

The CSRDand Anderson also asked the public to continue avoiding the area Sunday.