Three Taiwanese were killed yesterday morning and two injured in a rockfall in China’s Three Gorges area, the Straits Exchange Foundation said.
The five were part of a 45-person tour organized by Trans Continental Travel Service Co (東晟旅行社), a Taipei travel agency, the foundation said in a statement.
The foundation said it had contacted its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and the Mainland Affairs Council after the fatal accident occurred in Yichang, Hubei Province.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Yichang City Government
It has also formed a “1015 task force” to help and has been trying to coordinate with the Tourism Bureau and authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to provide assistance to the victims and their family members, the foundation said, adding that staff would accompany the relatives of the victims to China.
Rescue crews are continuing their search for survivors, it said.
The tour group, made up of two tour guides and 43 tourists mainly from the Theater Association of Taiwan (台灣戲院公會), is on a seven-day visit to China that started on Friday, the travel agency said.
The decade-old association represents movie theaters nationwide and often negotiates on their behalf with international film distributors and companies.
Two men, aged 49 and 54, and a woman aged 55, were killed by falling rocks as they walked around the scenic site, while another man and woman were injured, the travel agency said.
Thirty members of the group have decided to continue the tour as scheduled, while 10 remained with the two who were injured, it said.
The travel agency said it would help the families of the three people who died file insurance claims, which should amount to NT$3 million (US$99,387) per person.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) and foundation Chairman Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) expressed great concern over the accident and have directed their agencies to provide all necessary assistance.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said Chinese authorities have activated a mechanism for response to emergencies associated with Taiwan.
The office would coordinate with agencies in Taiwan and China to help handle the aftermath of the accident, he said.
Hubei has been inundated by rare autumn floods since the beginning of this month as heavy rains have battered the province, the state-owned China News Service reported.
More than 2.79 million people have been affected, and Yichang is now a major disaster area, the report said.
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