Preliminary results from an investigation into Tuesday’s tour bus fire showed that an emergency exit on the left rear side of the bus was operational, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
Twenty-four Chinese tourists and two Taiwanese — the bus driver and tour guide — died after their bus caught fire on National Freeway No. 2 en route to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Police and passing truck drivers failed in their attempts to open an emergency exit on the left rear side of the bus from the outside, investigators said, adding that they are trying to determine whether the external handle on that exit was damaged when the bus hit the guardrails, during the fire or during attempts to clear the site.
Photo: Richie B. Tongo, EPA
The left rear emergency exit was operational and could be opened from the inside, investigators said.
Another exit on the right rear of the bus had already been opened, presumably before the first collision with the guardrail, they added.
However, investigators said that after the collision the door could not be opened properly as it was wedged against the guardrail.
Photo: Taipei Times
As the right rear exit had to be activated by the driver, investigators said they were still trying to determine whether the door had been opened by the driver, Su Ming-cheng (蘇明成), or one of the passengers.
This detail might prove critical in understanding the case, as an autopsy of Su showed that he suffered from smoke inhalation before his death, investigators said, adding that they had not ruled out the possibility that Su had been knocked unconscious in the collision.
Prosecutors said they are trying to determine if a fire extinguisher found in the bus had been used.
Investigators are also looking into why the bus continued along the highway after smoke was first seen at the 4.2km mark of the freeway, when the bus had slowed to between 20kph and 30kph.
“We are also looking into what happened between the 4.2km mark, at the 2.9km mark where the bus hit the outer guardrail and where it crashed into the inner guardrail at the 2.8km mark,” the team said.
The office said it was releasing information to keep victims’ family members informed.
The office held an information session at the Chuto Plaza Hotel in Taoyuan at 8:30pm for the victims’ family members, who arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4pm.
Forty-nine family members, as well as 21 Chinese officials were taken to a funeral parlor in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) after their arrival.
LANDMARK: Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two would deepen bilateral ties President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged continued support for Haiti, particularly in food aid and healthcare, as the Caribbean nation faces ongoing social and economic challenges. Speaking at a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, Lai said Taiwan would step up bilateral cooperation to help improve Haiti’s social infrastructure. Taiwan would continue supporting Haiti through initiatives aimed at improving healthcare, food security and overall development, he said. Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two nations would continue to support each other and deepen bilateral
MONTHS OF WORK: The core mission of Taiwan’s negotiators is to safeguard the national interest, public health and food security, President William Lai said Taiwan is still hoping to reach a deal with the US in ongoing tariff talks after it was not among the first batch of 14 nations to receive tariff notification letters. The US issued its first batch of tariff notification letters on Monday, but Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday confirmed that Taiwan has yet to receive one. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who lead the Office of Trade Negotiations, are in the US negotiating the tariff issue, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US in early April announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods, including
The New York Yankees are to host Taiwanese Heritage Day for the first time this year, the event’s organizer announced on Monday. The annual event, which has been held nearly every year since 2005, has often been hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field, but this year it would be hosted by the New York Yankees on Sept. 10 at Yankee Stadium, organizer ROF International Sport Marketing wrote on social media. The event, which is being co-organized by the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America (TCCNA), is one of many cultural events hosted by the Yankees, the announcement said,
DRILLS FOR 10 DAYS: The exercises would continue around the clock under realistic conditions taking into account all possibilities, the defense ministry said Taiwan yesterday launched its largest-ever military drills intended to guard against Chinese threats to invade, including using “gray zone” tactics deployed by China that stop just short of open warfare. This year’s 10-day live-fire Han Kuang exercises are the longest yet and follow the delivery of a range of new weaponry from tanks to uncrewed waterborne drones. The drills began with exercises to counter the actions of China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships that have been harassing Taiwanese vessels around outlying islands close to the Chinese coast, the Ministry of National Defense said. Cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns are seen by Taiwan as
RSS