Six people died yesterday when a tour bus carrying 45 passengers crashed into the side of a mountain along the Suhua Highway.
Ten people were severely injured and five had minor injuries.
The Yilan County Fire Department said that it received a report of the accident at 4:29pm, adding that it is still investigating the cause.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
The bus had been manufactured in January 2018 and had passed its regular inspection this year, the Directorate-General of Highways said.
The driver, surnamed Yu (游), had obtained his license for large vehicles on March 30 last year, it added.
Yu said that the brakes were not working.
New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) Office said that the bus was carrying residents of the district’s Fusing Borough (復興).
Fusing Borough Warden Liu Hung-chu (劉洪珠) had arranged a two-day outing for 160 residents using her own money, the office said.
She had hired four buses, and the accident occurred on the return leg of the trip, it said, adding that the three other buses arrived safely at Suao Station.
Teng Lung Transport (騰龍通運), which the buses are registered under, said that it had only learned of the accident after seeing it on the news.
The trip was arranged through Good Vision Travel Agency Co (好視野旅行社), the company said.
Representatives from the bus company and travel agency visited the site of the accident.
Teng Lung Transport paid each injured person NT$2,000 (US$70.76) and gave NT$50,000 to family members of the deceased.
The Taiwan Transport Safety Board dispatched officials to gather information for an official inquiry.
The crash site, near the 115km marker of the southbound lane, obstructed traffic, but the Suhua Highway traffic control center said the road had been cleared by 8pm.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) had telephoned Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tzu-miao (林姿妙) as soon as he learned of the accident and asked that Lin make every effort to help the injured people.
Hou last night visited the wounded and their family members at the Tri-service General Hospital’s Yilan branch, the report said.
The Insurance Bureau said that those who died in the accident would each be entitled to compensation of at least NT$4 million from South China Insurance Co (華南產險).
That includes a basic coverage of NT$2 million in compulsory vehicle liability insurance and NT$2 million in travel agency liability insurance, Insurance Bureau Director-General Shih Chiung-hwa (施瓊華) said.
Additional reporting by Kao Shih-ching
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS