28 Hong Kong residents on mainland tour hurt in road accident

All 28 members of a Hong Kong tour group were injured yesterday when their coach toppled on to its side on a highway in Guangdong.

Two of the injured were taken to a hospital in Lufeng and were in stable condition. The others were sent back to Hong Kong.

Seven ambulances took the injured 26 - including six in serious condition and their tour guide - to -Tuen Mun, Northern and Prince of Wales hospitals.

They were all admitted with injuries to their arms and legs.

Police said an official of China Travel Service (CTS) sought their help just before 8pm when it said the tour group had been involved in an accident on the mainland.

The injured were transferred to ambulances at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint at 10.30pm.

The bus driver, believed to be a mainland resident, was also hurt but it was not clear whether he was also taken to Lufeng hospital.

The group was on the first day of a three-day tour of Shantou. Just after 1pm, while on a slippery road en route to Xuanwu mountain, a major sightseeing spot, the driver lost control of the coach and it tipped over.

A Lufeng hospital spokeswoman said two injured passengers - a man and a woman - regained consciousness after emergency treatment but their condition was still critical.

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said last night that his group had requested a report from CTS on the the cause of yesterday's accident.

He said mainland officials had done a lot to improve road safety following a spate of major traffic accidents involving visiting Hong Kong residents over the past two years.

On March 14 this year, fire ripped through a Hong Kong tour bus after it crashed on the notorious Guangzhou-Shenzhen Highway, killing one passenger and injuring 44 other tourists.