A couple from Charleswood died after the ambulance taking them to a hospital crashed in Cayo Coco, Cuba.
Family members told CTV News János Boda, 50, and Rózsa Boda, 51, have died.
The couple were in Cuba to celebrating János’ 50th birthday.
In the early hours of Jan. 5, Rózsa was experiencing some chest pain. After being examined by a doctor she was taken to the hospital but the ambulance crashed.
“This is like a nightmare,” said Zoltan Csupak, János' cousin.
Csupak said the family has been working with the Canadian embassy in Cuba. "All we know is that there was the collision but we don't know any of the details and they died on site,” he said.
Csupak said Rózsa was an elementary school teacher and an ambassador for Folklorama and worked at the Hungarian pavilion.
János worked in the IT department of the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation.
The couple's three children are now trying to come to terms with the shock after police contacted them.
Bettina Boda, 16, said she will miss her parents' warmth and sense of humour.
"Her smile. Her laugh,” said a tearful Bettina. “My daddy, he was always able to make me laugh when I was going through a hard time."
The family believes the crash was an accident and could have happened anywhere.
"I don't think there is any blame here. Something like this is unforeseen. Very tragic," said Csupak.
A Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said consular officials in Cuba are incontact with local authorities to gather additional information and assist the family.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Canadian Citizens who passed away in Cuba,” said Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Diana Khaddaj in an email to CTV News Sunday.
Relatives said the bodies will be brought back to Canada in about two weeks. A funeral is expected sometime after that.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to collect donations for the family.
- With files from Beth Macdonell
