2 sent to hospital, 1 missing after vehicle plunges into river in Kamloops, B.C.

The Kamloops RCMP had Schubert Drive closed between Birch Avenue and Evans Avenue on Sunday, May 17, 2026, after a car crashed into the North Thompson River. (Castanet)

Rescue crews in Kamloops, B.C., are searching for a survivor after a vehicle veered off a road and entered the North Thompson River on Sunday evening.

Kamloops Search and Rescue said in a social media post that swift-water rescue teams, ground searchers and aerial drone crews have been deployed as part of the ongoing effort.

The team said it was called to the city’s North Shore neighbourhood shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday.

“The search will continue today, both on land and on the water,” the post said.

A spokesperson for B.C. Emergency Health Services says several paramedics were dispatched to the scene at 6:17 p.m. Sunday for reports of “a vehicle leaving Schubert Drive at Juniper Street and landing in the adjacent North Thompson River.”

Four ambulances with primary care paramedics and one ambulance with advanced care paramedics responded.

“Paramedics provided medical treatment to two patients—one an occupant of the vehicle and one a passerby helping at the scene,” the agency said.

Both patients were transported to hospital in stable condition.

Kamloops SAR is urging the public to avoid the area along Schubert Drive between Evans and Birch avenues while crews continue their search.

A spokesperson for Kamloops Fire Rescue told local news outlet Castanet that two occupants were inside the vehicle when it entered the river.

“When the crews got there, there were four people in the water due to the fact that some bystanders jumped in,” platoon chief Ken Hartt said.

Firefighters reportedly helped those people reach the shore, but one person remained inside the vehicle when it was swept downstream by the fast-moving water.