Dramatic car accident in Taiwan leaves 33 dead

Geographic areas

» 02/14/2017, 10.35

TAIWAN

A tourist bus overturned on a highway: 11 wounded in serious condition. Excess speed or drivers falling asleep at the wheel believed to have been the cause. It is the most serious road accident in 1986.

Taipei (AsiaNews) – 33 people have died in a road accident involving a tourist bus in Taiwan, on Monday night. The vehicle overturned on a Taipei highway.

Investigators believe the probable causes are the driver having fallen asleep or speeding.

Taiwan traffic police said that 30 people, including the driver and a guide, died on the spot. Another three died in hospital because of their injuries. The authorities are aware that 11 other people were hospitalized in serious condition in seven hospitals in Taipei.

All 44 passengers were Taiwanese citizens, many of them elderly, returning from a trip to Taichung.

Investigators reveal that the driver had been in service for 14 hours at the time of the crash, which occurred at 21.00 on Monday night. His shift had started at 6.30 am.

The vehicle had been thoroughly inspected only a month ago.

Government spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung has announced that the families of the victims will receive 6 million NTD (about 163,000 US dollars) as compensation.

The chairman of Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen and Lin Chuan Prime Minister have expressed their condolences.

The incid ent is the most serious in the country since 1986, when a bus plunged into a river in the country's central area, killing 42 people.

See also

21/10/2011 CHINA
Yueyue, the two year old hit by two trucks and left to suffer, dies
The small girl hit by a truck, was not rescued by passers-by. Another vehicle broke her legs and left her in a coma. The video of her tragedy has sparked millions of comments on the immorality and materialism that dominate today's China.

18/05/2012 VIETNAM
Vietnam, Central Highlands: Bus plunges off a bridge, 34 dead and 21 injured
The bus left Buon Ma Thuot yesterday evening and was bound for Ho Chi Minh City. For reasons still unclear it crashed into a river. Victims include the two drivers of the vehicle. Every day in the country an average of 33 people die in road accident. This year, a decrease of 30% over the first quarter of 2011.

29/12/2010 CHINA
Anti-land grab village chief dies in suspicious Christmas road accident
Qian Yunhui, head of Zhaiqiao village, fought for years against forced land seizures at the expenses of local farmers. On several occasions, he was detained and held in prison for petitioning the authorities. On Christmas day, a lorry hit and killed him. Residents of his village took to the street demanding justice in what many think is a case of murder.

02/05/2007 CHINA
Human organ trade officially banned in China
China's authorities have been accused of allowing the use of organs harvested from prisoners and road accidents victims without their consent. Doctors involved will now lose their licence to practice; public officials will go to jail. For experts the problem remains: how to trace organs' provenance.

24/07/2015 TAIWAN
Thirty students arrested in Taipei for protesting China-centric education
Those arrested apparently raided the Ministry of Education overnight. They want changes in the school curriculum with regards to the island's history and its relationship to the mainland dropped.

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