30 tourists hurt in tour bus crash

A tour bus carrying 34 tourists from Beijing overturned in Taiwan's Hualien County Monday afternoon, injuring 30 passengers, four of them seriously.　

More than 10 tourists were sent to the local hospital after the accident happened around 4:20 pm, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The Taipei branch of the Chinese mainland's Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Strait told the Global Times that two severely injured tourists were admitted to a hospital's Intensive Care Unit for treatment and another two with minor injuries were still at the hospital for observation.

"The other tourists are resting in a hotel now. We're helping local authorities deal with this accident, in terms of treatment for the injured and the compensation issue," said an assistant, surnamed Zhong, from the Taipei branch.

Zhai Shuangjing, 57, was severely injured and suffered internal bleeding to her chest. Another two female tourists surnamed Liu and Hou sustained serious injuries in the chest and head respectively, and Liu Tieji, 51, suffered serious back injuries, Xinhua reported.

The tour group, organized by China International Travel Service (CITS), arrived in Taiwan on September 20 and was scheduled to return on Thursday.

CITS said an emergency plan was in place, and they will aid family members who wish to go to Taiwan to visit their injured relatives.　

"We have reported this accident to authorities and also informed the insurance company for compensation," said Zhao Xin, vice president of CITS.

Two family members of one severely injured passenger will fly to Taiwan Wednesday together with the company's general manager, Zhao said.

The severely injured tourist suffered six broken ribs and had surgery to remove a ruptured spleen, said Zhao, who did not reveal the tourist's identity.

Taiwan tourism bureau said the bus, manufactured in 2010, overturned on Provincial Highway 11, and a preliminary investigation found the accident was probably caused by the heavy rain.

"The low visibility caused by rain and poor road conditions led to the accident," said the director of the operation department of the Taiwan tourism bureau, surnamed Yang, on Tuesday.

"We've taken measures to prevent accidents in the area, such as providing early warning information and asking for records of tour bus drivers," he said.　

This is the latest in a spate of bus accidents involving tourists from the Chinese mainland, leading to calls for increased safety.

Taiwanese tourist officials have pledged to undertake a road safety review, the Associated Press reported on July 9. The officials blamed tight tour itineraries, which mean drivers often speed, and a lack of qualified drivers to cater for the some 6,000 tourists that arrive daily, the report said.

"Because tourists from the Chinese mainland have an eight-day tour, the drivers always work overtime and are tired," said Yang, who added that authorities have taken measures to ensure drivers do not work such long hours.

Also on Monday, in Chiayi County another tour bus carrying 16 tourists from Shandong Province hit a car, which then crashed into another bus carrying tourists from Fujian Province, the Taipei Times reported Tuesday.

A month earlier in Chiayi, 23 tourists from Guangdong Province were injured, three seriously, when their bus hit the roof of a tunnel after the driver did not see the height limit, the China Post reported on August 25.

"We don't see a decline in the number of Chinese mainland tourists. Our government will try its best to ensure every tourist's safety in Taiwan. I hope those accidents won't affect people's willingness to travel here," said Yang.

As of the end of August, 1.25 million tourists from the Chinese mainland had traveled in Taiwan on group tours, not including individual visitors, the tourism bureau's statistics show.

Despite the accident, some residents believe it will not affect their plans.

"I won't cancel my Taiwan trip over the October 1 National Day holidays, but I'll pay more attention to safety," said local resident Zhu Shanshan.