US crash family returns to city

By Lu Feiran  |   2009-2-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A FAMILY of three that survived the fatal bus crash last Friday in the United States returned to Shanghai yesterday evening.

Four tour group members who weren't in the bus wreck also landed at Pudong International Airport on the same flight.

The injured - eight-year-old Wu Shuang and parents Wu Shougui and Bao Ruihua - were released from a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, early this week. The boy, who was thrown out of the coach when it overturned on an Arizona highway, still showed a bruise around his left eye.

The boy escaped serious injury when he landed in a sandy spot and suffered only a slight concussion. Most of the tourists who were ejected from the bus were killed.

The boy's father and mother suffered a few bruises.

"After the accident, we received a great deal of help from the (Chinese) consulate general and the local hospitals," said the father, Wu Shougui.

There's been no talk so far in Wu's family about possible legal action against the Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service, which booked the tour, or the US-based Galaxy Tour Inc, which arranged logistics in the US.

"We all feel it was extremely lucky that they survived the mishap, and we're satisfied with that," said Wu Chao, Wu Shougui's older brother.

Seven people were killed in the accident, six of whom were tourists that flew out of Shanghai. Of the 10 who were injured, six were still hospitalized in the US last night, with two in critical condition.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred when the bus swerved and overturned as the tour group was returning to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon.

The families of the victims flew from Shanghai to the US on Tuesday and Wednesday to claim the bodies of those who died and visit the injured.