At least one person has died after a rollover crash that shut down the southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway for much of the day Saturday.
BC RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey confirmed in an email that the BC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, and that the BC Coroners Service has been notified.
O'Donaghey did not say how many passengers were in the vehicle when it crashed or how many had died.
BC Emergency Health Services told CTV News Vancouver two people were airlifted to hospital in critical condition and two more were transported by ground ambulances after the serious crash, which happened around 8:30 a.m.
The ambulance service dispatched two air ambulances and four ground ambulances to the scene.
While the two people transported by helicopter from the scene were in critical condition, those transported by ambulance were in stable condition, according to EHS.
DriveBC first tweeted reports of the incident just after 9:30 a.m., and soon confirmed that a crash had closed Highway 5's southbound lanes for more than 106 kilometres.
The closure was in effect from one kilometre south of Merritt to one kilometre north of Hope, according to DriveBC, which advised motorists to take Highway 5A to Highway 3 as a detour.
The highway reopened around 3:30 p.m., according to DriveBC.
--with files from CTV News Vancouver --