A bus loaded with pilgrims yesterday afternoon fell into a ravine in Nankang, Taipei, injuring all nine people on board, three seriously.
One 45-year-old woman, Wu Yu-lan (吳玉蘭), was rushed to the Sungshan Hospital (松山醫院) where she was treated for an injured spine.
Hospital officials said she was so seriously injured that she might be paralyzed from the waist down.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Among the eight rushed to the Chunghsiao Hospital (忠孝醫院) was an 82-year-old woman, Lin Ah-yu (林阿玉), who suffered from two broken ribs and concussion, and a 45-year-old man, Chen Cheng-huang (
Both were in serious condition, hospital officials said.
The youngest member of the party was a three-year-old girl, Sung Wen-chi (
Police said that at 2:35pm the tour bus fell into the 50m ravine, when the bus driver was making a turn on a narrow and slick service road.
The group was headed to Kuanyin Cave (
The driver, Chen Tien-yi (陳天益), told police that the accident may have been due to wet conditions from the rainy weather and narrow roads which made it difficult to maneuver the bus.
Police said 12 ambulances and fire engines attended the scene. Rescue work was hampered by the rain, police said.
The overturned bus was one of the three buses packed with pilgrims from Lotung, Ilan County headed to the religious site.
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