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Road closed off after second deadly crash in eight weeks

Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) closed off Township Road No. 54 in Chushan Township (竹山) to all traffic on Sunday after an accident that killed four people and injured five others.

Lee ordered the closure after inspecting the accident scene.

Nantou County Tourism Bureau Director Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) said on Sunday that his bureau had already opened a public tender to improve the road because of its hazardous condition.

Eleven people were injured on March 24 when a tour van tumbled off a cliff on the same narrow stretch of road where Sunday's accident occurred.

Local police and firefighters said the driver of the van on Sunday apparently miscalculated a turn in rainy weather, sending the vehicle over a precipice.

They attributed Sunday's accident to poor visibility and road conditions.

However, authorities said the van's driver, 51-year-old Chen Yi-sen (陳益森), had failed to keep the vehicle on the winding section of the road near Marker 13. They also said that his van was not licensed for carrying tourists.

Chen Yi-sen and his van had been hired by 54-year-old Taipei County resident Chen Chun-cheng (陳春成) to take his family to see a suspension bridge in Nantou County.

The van's passengers were thrown from the vehicle as it rolled down the mountainside and landed 100m below the road in a mangled heap of metal and glass.

One of the injured used a mobile phone to call for help at around 3pm.

Rescuers searched for two hours before being led to the scene of the accident by the cries of Chen Chen-cheng's youngest daughter.

When Nantou County firefighters and ambulances arrived at the scene they found bodies, body parts and pieces of the van strewn along the face of the ravine in thick undergrowth.

The dead included Chen Yi-sen as well as Chen Chun-cheng, his 74-year-old mother and a 34-year-old son-in-law -- all of whom were from Taipei County.

Chen Chen-cheng's 55-year-old wife and two daughters, aged 26 and 25, a six-year-old grandson and a 35-year-old son-in-law were injured. They were rushed to a local hospital, where they all remain in critical condition.

Officials say people should use Township Road No. 49 now that No. 54 is closed.
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