NEW BRUNSWICK – The New Brunswick government has suspended the use of 15-seat passenger vans to transfer students to and from school following a crash that killed seven students and a teacher from Bathurst, N.B., according to CTVNews.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said use of the vans will be suspended for the remainder of the 2007-2008 school year; however, he added there is no evidence to suggest the type of vehicle used played a role in the tragic accident, which involved a boy’s basketball team returning from a game in Moncton.

The minister called on all public and private schools along with student councils in the province’s 14 school districts to restrict the use of passenger vans for transport to and from extra-curricular activities.

The 15-seat Ford Club Wagon lost control on an icy highway, slamming into a tractor trailer just south of Bathurst. Seven boys were killed along with the coach’s wife. The RCMP and Transport Canada are investigating the accident. An interdepartmental working group will review the facts of the crash and report their findings back to the education minister.

Frank Wilson, a civil engineer who’s coordinating the team investigating the accident for Transport Canada, told The Canadian Pressthat the predominant factors in the crash were icy roads rather than possible flaws in the vehicle. The crash has prompted some Canadian schools to take their 15-seat buses out of service, while other school boards have announced they will be reviewing their travel policies.

British Columbia’s transportation and education ministers said the vehicles have been used for decades by schools without serious injury; however, B.C. officials said they will review the use of the passenger vans by schools.