Nine people were killed and at least 23 others were injured when a bus carrying members of the Shaklee Corp, a US firm, plunged off Yangmingshan's Yangde Avenue (
The bus was reported to be carrying 36 people, including the driver, when it toppled down a 50m ravine. Rescue work was continuing as of press time.
Cable news networks reported that the bus hit two cars as it careened off the road. Some of the people in the cars suffered minor injuries.
One of the injured bus passengers was quoted by the reports as saying the bus had failed to brake properly.
Rescue efforts were initially hampered by darkness, the steepness of the ravine and the fact that many of the passengers were trapped in the bus.
Video footage from the scene shows rescue workers and passersby helping to evacuate the injured by hand.
The bus from the Taiwan Tour Co (
The injured were sent to a number of hospitals around Taipei for treatment, including Shinkong Hospital, Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation Medical Center, Mackay Memorial Hospital, the Yangming branch of the Taipei City Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans' Hospital.
Two of the people who had been pulled from the bus as of press time were reported in critical condition while the others suffered less serious injuries, Sanlih news (
The driver survived, but suffered several fractures.
The Shaklee Corp, established in 1956, is a direct sales company dealing in medicinal and botanical products such as cosmetics, vitamins and environmentally friendly cleaners. It's Taiwanese branch was established last year.
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