Via Train, Ottawa Bus Crash in Canadian Capital: 5 Passengers Dead, Dozens Injured (VIDEO)

Five people were pronounced dead Wednesday morning in the Canadian capital, after a Via Rail train and an Ottowa city bus crashed in the city's southwest end.

According to local news station CTV, Ottawa firefighters reported "multiple" fatalities, along with more than a dozen people injured after the train hit an OC Transpo bus. At least seven people were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment of serious injuries.

"We had bodies and debris pretty much everywhere at the impact site," Marc Messier, Ottawa Fire Service member, told CTV. "It's too soon to tell if the number [of fatalities] will rise."

The double-decker bus collided with the Via at around 8:48 a.m. EST. All of the five deceased were on board the bus - none of the passengers on the Via train reported getting hurt. Messier told CTV that the train went off the rails "approximately 100 to 200 feet down the rail." Photos from the crash depict the Transpo bus missing its entire front.

"It's definitely a serious scene," he continued. "Our top priority is getting anyone with serious injuries to the hospital and getting them into proper care."

Witness Pascal Lolgis told the Canadian Press that the bus looked like it barreled through a lowered traffic gate.

"He didn't stop. He must have lost his brakes," Lolgis reported.

Mark Cogan, who also saw the horrific event occur, confirmed that the barrier arm was down when the crash happened.

"The train is going through, and I was just looking around, just watching things happen," he said. "And noticed that in the bus lane, the double-decker bus...I saw him and he just kept going. I thought maybe there's a side way around or something, but instantly he just...he smoked the train. He went through the guard rail and just hammered the train and then it was mayhem."

The reason for the crash has not yet been indentified, but officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have sent a team of inspectors to conduct an investigation at the site.

All Via train service on the Ottawa-Toronto route has been suspended until further notice.