Twenty-six people on a bus taking a Chinese tour group died Tuesday when a fire broke out in the vehicle on a highway near Taiwan’s main global airport, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported, citing authorities.
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Investigators remove a body bag from the bus carrying tourists from mainland China that crashed and caught fire along an expressway.
According to Xinhua news agency, a majority of the tourists were from northeast China’s Liaoning Province. The bus driver and tour guide, who also died, were Taiwanese nationals.
TAO spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said a director-level official from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits would be among the group.
Firefighter extinguished the flames in around 30 minutes, but it was not immediately clear how many passengers the bus had been carrying.
They were scheduled to take a 4:30pm flight back to Dalian after arriving in Taiwan last Tuesday. Prosecutors and police are investigating the cause of the accident.
Photos from the scene show the bus engulfed in flames, as a plume of thick black smoke fills the motorway.
Taiwan authorities ordered some tour buses off the road Wednesday after one caught fire and killed 26 on board as questions swirl over why emergency doors and windows did not open.
Hsiao said the association will hold a memorial service for the deceased and help the victims’ families to identify their dead relatives through DNA testing.
Chinese tour groups have increasingly visited Taiwan in recent years after a boom in mainland tourism.
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However, there are fears the industry may be hit after Beijing-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen won the presidency in January, amid reports that tourist numbers have dropped.
