Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
Hau told a press conference that the crash, which also left 25 people injured, was thought to have been caused by brake failure.
The death toll was confirmed at eight yesterday, although there had been initial reports on Sunday that nine people had died.
PHOTO: CNA
Hau said that although the Taiwan Tour Co (
Statistics from the city's Bureau of Transportation show there are 265 passenger bus operators in Taipei, with more than 3,000 buses.
Bureau Director Luo Shiaw-shyan (
The bus involved in Sunday's accident was carrying 36 people, including the driver, when it plunged into a 50m ravine.
Several passengers sustained serious injuries, while the driver suffered multiple fractures.
Rescue work continued all night as teams searched for survivors. The road was opened at 4:30am yesterday but was closed again from 10am for removal of the bus.
Luo said a person by the name of Chan Ming-hsuan (詹明萱) was the only potential passenger that remained unaccounted for. Officials have been unable to confirm that Chan had boarded the bus as the bus company had provided only a name but no contact numbers.
If the passenger list provided by the bus company was accurate, the bus was not overloaded, Luo said.
He said the most recent safety inspection of the bus had shown that it was made in 2001 and that the driver was qualified to drive a tour bus.
Meanwhile, Hau said there were four to five dangerous sections on Yangde Boulevard, but that banning all large tour buses from the road was not feasible.
He said the city would instead work to improve the enforcement of traffic regulations.
Additional reporting by CNA and Rich Chang
Also see story:
Brake failure blamed for Yangmingshan bus crash
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