MONTREAL, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Seven high school students and a woman were killed early Saturday in Canada's Atlantic province of New Brunswick as they drove home from a basketball game, police said.

A van carrying 12 people, including members of the Bathurst High School basketball team, collided with a transport truck just after midnight/0500 GMT.

Seven students, ranging in age from 15 to 18, and one woman died at the scene, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Derek Strong said. Four other passengers from the van were taken to the hospital.

The students were returning to Bathurst from a basketball game in Moncton, New Brunswick, when the accident occurred.

"This is going to reverberate through the community for a long time," Strong said.

Driving conditions were poor at the time, with freezing rain and snow falling, Strong added.

(Reporting by Robert Melnbardis)

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