A Taiwanese tour guide was killed and seven Chinese tourists injured in a traffic accident on Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
The tour guide was reportedly sitting at the front of the tour bus, and her body was crushed between the bus and a roadside barrier after the vehicle crashed into a slope at the side of the road.
Chang Kuan-yu (張莞郁), 45, had lost all vital signs when she was found by emergency services.
Photo: CNA
The injured tourists were treated at two hospitals in Chiayi City.
According to the bureau, the accident occurred at the 48.5km milestone of the Alishan Highway (Highway No. 18) at 1:26pm. The bus was carrying a tour group from Zhejiang Province which comprised a tour leader and 15 tourists.
The group’s itinerary was arranged by Taiwan’s Relaxation Travel Service.
The Directorate-General of Highways said a preliminary investigation showed the accident may have been caused by speeding.
The directorate’s officers in Chiayi said the speed limit on the road on which the accident occurred was 30kph, but the camera recorder on the bus showed the bus was being driven at 60kph.
Though the driver claimed the tour bus skidded off the road, the directorate said that neither water nor oil was found on the road and that the weather was fine.
Police would continue to investigate the accident, it added.
Meanwhile, two Taiwanese tourists were injured in an accident on Tuesday afternoon while on their way to Angkor Wat, a popular tourist destination in Cambodia.
The bureau said a bus carrying the tourists collided with a car, killing four people in the car and injuring two women on the bus.
A female tourist surnamed Hsu (許) sustained severe injuries, while a woman surnamed Weng (翁) had minor bruising, the bureau said.
The other 13 Taiwanese tourists are to return to Taiwan today.
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