Tour buses ordered off the road after horror crash
Print Edition
TAIWAN authorities ordered some tour buses off the road yesterday following an accident which raised questions over emergency doors and windows that could not be opened.
Local media reported that bodies were piled up at emergency exits at the back of a bus full of tourists from the Chinese mainland which caught fire and crashed on its way to Taipei’s main airport on Tuesday.
Investigators believe mechanical or electrical failure near the driver’s seat may have led to the disaster, according to reports.
Preliminary investigations are said to have found emergency door handles distorted by heat from the inferno.
Pictures from the scene showed two men outside the bus trying to smash windows with fire extinguishers.
One eyewitness said passengers inside the bus had been pounding on the windows as it careered off the road.
Four buses belonging to the Mei Kui Shih Transportation Company — which operated the bus which crashed — have been ordered off the road, Taiwan’s highways department said.
Another 16 buses of the same model, used by other tour companies, will face compulsory inspection in the next week, the department said.
Prosecutors questioned the bus operator and a travel agency on Tuesday night and their investigation was continuing. They told reporters they were as yet unable to speculate on the causes of the accident.
“(We) will conduct a second examination of the scene and vehicle to identify the cause,” they said in a statement.
A postmortem examination will be carried out on the body of the driver to determine his state of health, the statement added. It also said relatives will undergo DNA tests to help identify the bodies.
The tour group of 24 visitors, mostly from Dalian in northeast China, had been heading to the airport for their flight home after an eight-day trip around the island.
The dead included three children, along with the driver and tour guide from Taiwan.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement yesterday saying that relevant mainland authorities will do their utmost to handle the aftermath of the accident.
According to the statement, Premier Li Keqiang has ordered relevant authorities to follow the situation and handle the aftermath properly.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, National Tourism Administration and provincial government of Liaoning, where the majority of victims were from, initiated an emergency response and contacted the victims’ families.
They also kept contact with Taiwan authorities through emergency liaison channels and started preparations to send a working team to Taiwan, according to the statement.
A group of mainland officials arrived in Taiwan yesterday to assist victims’ families.
Liu Kezhi, secretary-general of the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, told reporters at Taoyuan Airport: “My heart is very heavy at the moment.”
The statement also said Taiwan authorities should establish the cause of the accident and determine accountability as soon as possible. They should also boost safety management, eliminate safety hazards and guarantee tourists’ safety.
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