Veteran police and other emergency responders say it's the worst they've ever seen.

Nine people are dead and 26 injured after a tour bus skidded on an icy highway in Oregon, crashed through the guardrail and rolled down the hill.

"Right now, the main concern is getting the driver and all the patients back to health, and then I'm sure the OSP (Oregon State Police) will continue their investigation into the incident, once they're able to visit with them about it," says Larry Blanc, spokesman for St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, Oregon.

The bus, owned by Mi Joo Travel of Vancouver, had been heading back from Las Vegas. The company has not yet commented.

The road was believed to be icy at the time.

"From reports that I have seen from the Oregon state police, it appears the bus went into a slide, probably on black ice, on that portion of the hill,” adds Blanc. “And when it hit the guardrail, it flipped over and then rolled several times down the hill. So I’m pretty sure it was definitely weather-related."

He adds most of the people on board who ended up at St. Anthony are Korean-Canadian, with a few Korean nationals.

Sgt. Peter Thiessen with Lower Mainland RCMP couldn't confirm how many Canadians were injured or killed.

But he says they are working with Oregon State Police.

“We are assisting them with some of the next of kin notifications that are required to be carried out here in the Lower Mainland."

Photo Credit: Tim Trainor AP/East Oregonian