The eastbound lanes of Highway 401 were closed east of Woodstock after a collision sent a tractor-trailer into the Nith River near Ayr late Tuesday morning.
The 401 was closed at Highway 2, and traffic was being diverted onto Highway 403, after a transport truck crashed into a guardrail before leaving the highway and ending up submerged in the Nith River.
Water rescue crews were quickly dispatched from Woodstock, but provincial police say it quickly became a recovery mission, not a rescue mission.
The OPP dive team arrived on scene around 4 p.m. and two bodies were recovered from the wreckage through the evening hours.
Clean-up crews are also working at the site to deal with any leaking diesel fuel.
A representative with the U.S.-based trucking company involved had said two people were believed to have been inside the truck at the time of the crash.
Philip Belyew Sr, president and CEO of Transportation Network Carriers says the truck was travelling from Chicago to Mississauga, Ont.
Accident reconstruction teams continue to try to figure out what happened, but so far the cause of the accident is unclear. Police say no other vehicles were involved.
