The Yilan District Prosecutors Office yesterday issued death certificates to the families of 19 Chinese tourists who are believed to have perished when torrential rains triggered rockslides on Suhua Highway 14 days ago.
The 19 victims were Tian Yuan (田園), the leader of a Chinese tour group organized by the Hong Tai Travel Agency (Taiwan), 17 members of another tour group from China’s Guangdong Province organized by the Harrula Tour Co (Taiwan) and its tour leader Hu Gang (胡綱).
All-out rescue efforts have been undertaken by land, air and sea since the accidents took place when heavy rain brought by Typhoon Megi pounded northeastern Taiwan on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, destroying several sections of the 118km long, cliff-edge highway.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The Chinese tourists and their tour buses are believed to have been buried under massive mudslides or swept into the Pacific Ocean after the vehicles were pushed off the road.
Senior Prosecutor Lin Che-hui said the certificates were issued at the request of the Chinese victims’ relatives, who had rushed to Taiwan upon learning of the accidents.
Although the bodies of the 19 Chinese have not been found, they are considered to be dead based on circumstantial evidence, including inspections of the sites and eyewitness testimonies, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation Deputy Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) visited the victims’ relatives at a Taipei hotel earlier yesterday and offered his condolences.
The government will continue the rescue operations, he said.
“No deadline has been set on when the operations should stop as some lawmakers have suggested,” Kao said. “The government will do its best to meet whatever requests you make.”
The family of Lu Zeka (盧日卡), a member of the Guangdong group, told reporters that they understood that various concerned Taiwanese agencies had done a lot in the rescue efforts.
“We don’t know what else we can ask for from Taiwan,” they said.
The relatives, who have been in Taiwan for more than a week, will return home tomorrow after a memorial service for the Chinese victims at the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor today.
In related news, the insurance sector said yesterday that the family of each Chinese victim is entitled to NT$1.5 million (about US$49,000) in compensation.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said on Tuesday that the Chinese victims would only be granted national compensation on a “reciprocal basis,” meaning state compensation would only apply to Chinese nationals if Taiwanese had received similar compensation from the Chinese government for accidents in China.
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