Seven people were killed and 21 injured when a tour bus traveling from Taipei to Pingtung careened off a bridge on a highway in Kaohsiung County early yesterday, local police reports said.
The bus, carrying 27 passengers, collided with a pick-up truck on Highway No. 3 near Dashu Township (大樹) in Kaohsiung County, crashed into the retaining wall and fell off the bridge dropping more than 10m to the slope below, police said.
Seven people died in the crash, 21 were injured and the bus was severely damaged, police said.
The 44-year-old bus driver and his 12-year-old son were among the injured. The driver sustained a broken shoulder and injuries to his face, while his son’s chest was crushed, a doctor reported.
Five other people sustained major injuries, police said.
The driver of the pick-up truck that collided with the tour bus said he suspected that the bus was going too fast.
A female passenger on the bus, Chen Ji-ru (陳姬儒) who received minor injuries, said that most of the passengers were sleeping when the accident occurred at around 5:35am. She recalled hearing a lot of screaming and crying.
“I was stuck under a seat, my arms really hurt ... I kept hoping to see someone coming to rescue us, but it felt like I was waiting forever,” she said.
The bus, which is registered in Taipei County, left the Taipei Bus Station around midnight and was traveling south, carrying mostly workers from a company and their friends to the ceremonial burning of the Donggang King Boat in Pingtung County.
An initial investigation found that the bus was traveling at 120kph at the time of the accident, but a more comprehensive investigation will be carried out when the driver recovers, Kaohsiung district prosecutor Wang Sen-rong (王森榮) said.
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