At least two people are dead and 28 others injured after a tour bus and a truck collided at the 129.9km mark of the Suhua Highway near Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at about 4pm yesterday, triggering massive traffic jams in both directions as emergency responders worked for several hours to clear the scene.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily said the bus was carrying 38 passengers, plus the 56-year-old driver, surnamed Chiang (江), and a tour guide surnamed Wang (王), 73.
The tour guide died at the scene, the newspaper said, while the truck driver, also surnamed Wang (王), was pronounced dead at 6pm after being transported to Taipei Veterans General Hospital Suao branch.
Photo: CNA
Police officers from Nanao Township (南澳) were first to arrive at the scene.
Preliminary indications were that the truck, which was hauling steel beams, flipped on its side while negotiating a curve, the newspaper said.
The truck then ran into the tour bus, which was traveling in the opposite direction, police said.
An Indonesian who was a passenger in the truck did not suffer major injuries, the newspaper said.
Passengers on the bus said the truck showed no signs of slowing as it took the corner.
Police said deep grooves in the asphalt that might have been caused by beams falling off the trailer and could indicate that the loss of the beams might have unbalanced the truck enough to tip it onto the bus, police said.
Police said the accident investigation is ongoing.
The tour group was mostly made up of 50 to 60-year-olds, and one 80-year-old, reports said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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