A 13-year-old girl has died after falling from a moving school bus in Dorchester this week, according to the RCMP.

The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday at 2:45 p.m., Cpl. Brian Villers said in an email. The circumstances remain unclear. Villers said “the investigation is ongoing.”

On Thursday afternoon, Cpl. Hans Ouellette, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick RCMP, said police don't believe criminality was involved.

In an email, Stephanie Patterson, a spokesperson for the Anglophone East School District, said “Our thoughts are with the student’s family and the Dorchester Consolidated School community.” She said the district “remains focused on supporting students, families and staff who have been impacted by this tragedy.”

The news follows reports that a student from Dorchester School was hospitalized after an incident involving a school bus on Woodlawn Road.

The school was closed for an operational day on Wednesday, and Thursday is a professional development day. At Dorchester school, professional development activities and parent-teacher interviews have been cancelled, Patterson said. 

“Education Support Services remain in place, as they were yesterday, with counselling services available for any staff or students who wish to come to the school to access them,” she said. 

This story was updated with additional information from the New Brunswick RCMP on April 14, 2022, at approximately 1:40 p.m.