appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Lawrence Chung

Taiwanese investigators were trying to determine on Wednesday if a bus driver lost consciousness before his burning coach smashed into a crash barrier on Tuesday, killing 26 people.
They were also investigating whether the bus company defied safety regulations by adding ­anti-theft bolts to the front and back doors of the vehicle.
“Under normal conditions, if the driver finds the bus is on fire, he will stop the vehicle immediately. But from what was captured through the surveillance cameras, the burning bus travelled 1.4km before ramming into the crash barrier,” an investigator from the Taoyuan District Prosecutors ­Office said.
26 people, including 24 mainland Chinese, killed in tour bus blaze in Taiwan
Investigators suspected that the bus driver, identified only by his family name Su, might have lost consciousness after the coach burst into flames, he said.
Nobody on board the vehicle, including 24 tourists from Liaoning province, survived the accident.
The bus driver and a local guide were also killed.
The tourists were just minutes from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they were due to take a flight home at the end of their eight-day trip, police and tourism officials said.

Investigators said they were looking for evidence as to why no one escaped, especially when the bus had various emergency exits.
On Tuesday, police said nine bodies were found together at the back of the bus, suggesting they might have tried to escape through the rear emergency exit.
Investigators also found that one of the back exit doors on the bus was locked.
The other rear exit could not be opened because it was blocked by the roadside barrier.
“We want to know whether the exits could be opened from the ­inside,” the investigator said.
Exit door was locked on Taiwan bus that burst into flames, killing 26
There were eight emergency exits on the bus, but the front section was on fire and passengers could only try to escape through the back.
After media reports that many coach companies illegally altered the locks of the exits to prevent thefts, the island’s transport ­ministry yesterday ordered all coaches to undergo safety checks.
Meanwhile, nine mainland ­officials, including a director-level official from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, arrived in Taipei to deal with the aftermath of the bus fire tragedy.
Sixty relatives of the mainland victims were scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on Thursday.




Burning bus travelled 1.4km before crash: inquiry into deadly Taiwan tour coach blaze focuses on driver

Forensic investigators comb the scene of the crash on Wednesday near Taoyuan airport. Photo: EPA

Investigators have found that one of the back exit doors on the bus that burst into flames in Taiwan on Tuesday, killing 26 people, was locked. CNA Pictures.

A worker looks at the wreckage of a bus carrying tourists from China which crashed into a highway railing en route to Taoyuan airport is seen, just south of the capital Taipei, Taiwan July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

26 people, including 24 mainland Chinese, killed in tour bus blaze in Taiwan

The fire broke out in the front of the tour bus after it crashed on the road leading to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

TAIWAN COACH CRASH. details unknown. 18JUL16 SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

Taiwan tests the high-end mainland Chinese tourism market

Honour guards perform in front of mainland Chinese tourists at the Sun Yat-sen memorial in Taipei. Photo: Reuters

News

China

People & Culture

Investigators try to determine why burning vehicle travelled 1.4km before crashing into road barrier


Burning bus travelled 1.4km before crash: inquiry into deadly Taiwan tour coach blaze focuses on driver

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Investigators try to determine why burning vehicle travelled 1.4km before crashing into road barrier

Investigators try to determine why burning vehicle travelled 1.4km before crashing into road barrier