FROM VIDEOS CAN SEE SMOKE IN BUS BEFORE CRASHING AND BURNING.
I BET THESE LOCUSTS MUST HAVE ARGUED AND SET FIRE THEMSELVES.
Premier orders Cabinet to handle aftermath of tourist bus inferno
Taipei--Premier Lin Chuan (林全) expressed sadness over the loss of 26 lives in Tuesday's tour bus fire and directed the Cabinet to set up a Central Disaster Emergency Operations Center to handle the aftermath of the accident, an official said.
Twenty-four of the victims were mainland Chinese nationals, making the accident the worst involving Chinese tourists in Taiwan since Beijing began to allow its citizens to visit Taiwan in 2008.
According to Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan, the Tourism Bureau and Mainland Affairs Council, as well as the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會), have informed the Chinese authorities of the situation, and the SEF has also sent officials to the scene of the accident to provide assistance.
The government's top priority at present is to help the victims' families travel to Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile that day, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said it had set up a center in Taoyuan and is standing ready to provide support, including prayer for the victims and accompanying the bereaved families.
Lawmakers Express Condolences
Lawmakers across party lines have expressed sadness and condolences to the families of the victims of a bus fire early Tuesday afternoon, including 23 Chinese tourists and a Chinese tour guide.
Chen Ting-fei, a Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus whip, expressed sympathy over the incident and said that the top priority at present is to assist the victims' families to come to Taiwan to deal with the aftermath.
DPP lawmaker Lee Kun-tse, a chairman of the Legislature's Transportation Committee, also urged law enforcement authorities to get to the bottom of the accident and find out who should be held accountable.
Other lawmakers who expressed shock over the incident included Hsu Shu-hua, a deputy Kuomintang caucus whip, who expressed hope that the legislative causes of all parties will discuss how to help deal with the issue during a meeting slated for the following day.
New Power Party legislative caucus Convener Hsu Yung-ming said the incident is an issue of public security. Police must conduct a thorough investigation into the case and see if there are any problems with other vehicles of the same model as the ill-fated bus, he added.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chen Yi-chieh said relevant government officials should be active in providing assistance.
Earlier in the day, President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Lin Chuan also expressed concern over the accident.
The Executive Yuan and the Taoyuan City government have formed an emergency task force to deal with the aftermath of the incident, while the National Immigration Agency said it will facilitate the entry procedure for the families of the Chinese victims by issuing them with travel permits upon their arrival in Taiwan.
All 26 people on the bus taking a Chinese tour group to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport died earlier in the day when a fire broke out in the vehicle on the No. 2 National Freeway. Two Taiwanese aboard the bus — the bus driver and a tour guide — also lost their lives in the tragedy.
According to the Tourism Bureau, the tour group was from China's Liaoning Province and was concluding an eight-day trip to Taiwan.
The worst single accident involving Chinese tourists in Taiwan occurred at about 1 p.m. Tuesday at the 2.8-kilometer mark of the freeway on its westbound lane headed toward Taiwan's main gateway.
Freeway surveillance cameras show that the bus was belching smoke and that fire began erupting from the front part of the vehicle before it rammed a guardrail on the outer edge of the freeway.
It was unclear at what point the fire broke out, what caused it, or why the driver did not pull the bus over while it was belching smoke.
An investigation is underway to identify the cause of the accident.
I BET THESE LOCUSTS MUST HAVE ARGUED AND SET FIRE THEMSELVES.
Premier orders Cabinet to handle aftermath of tourist bus inferno
Taipei--Premier Lin Chuan (林全) expressed sadness over the loss of 26 lives in Tuesday's tour bus fire and directed the Cabinet to set up a Central Disaster Emergency Operations Center to handle the aftermath of the accident, an official said.
Twenty-four of the victims were mainland Chinese nationals, making the accident the worst involving Chinese tourists in Taiwan since Beijing began to allow its citizens to visit Taiwan in 2008.
According to Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan, the Tourism Bureau and Mainland Affairs Council, as well as the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會), have informed the Chinese authorities of the situation, and the SEF has also sent officials to the scene of the accident to provide assistance.
The government's top priority at present is to help the victims' families travel to Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile that day, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said it had set up a center in Taoyuan and is standing ready to provide support, including prayer for the victims and accompanying the bereaved families.
Lawmakers Express Condolences
Lawmakers across party lines have expressed sadness and condolences to the families of the victims of a bus fire early Tuesday afternoon, including 23 Chinese tourists and a Chinese tour guide.
Chen Ting-fei, a Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus whip, expressed sympathy over the incident and said that the top priority at present is to assist the victims' families to come to Taiwan to deal with the aftermath.
DPP lawmaker Lee Kun-tse, a chairman of the Legislature's Transportation Committee, also urged law enforcement authorities to get to the bottom of the accident and find out who should be held accountable.
Other lawmakers who expressed shock over the incident included Hsu Shu-hua, a deputy Kuomintang caucus whip, who expressed hope that the legislative causes of all parties will discuss how to help deal with the issue during a meeting slated for the following day.
New Power Party legislative caucus Convener Hsu Yung-ming said the incident is an issue of public security. Police must conduct a thorough investigation into the case and see if there are any problems with other vehicles of the same model as the ill-fated bus, he added.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chen Yi-chieh said relevant government officials should be active in providing assistance.
Earlier in the day, President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Lin Chuan also expressed concern over the accident.
The Executive Yuan and the Taoyuan City government have formed an emergency task force to deal with the aftermath of the incident, while the National Immigration Agency said it will facilitate the entry procedure for the families of the Chinese victims by issuing them with travel permits upon their arrival in Taiwan.
All 26 people on the bus taking a Chinese tour group to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport died earlier in the day when a fire broke out in the vehicle on the No. 2 National Freeway. Two Taiwanese aboard the bus — the bus driver and a tour guide — also lost their lives in the tragedy.
According to the Tourism Bureau, the tour group was from China's Liaoning Province and was concluding an eight-day trip to Taiwan.
The worst single accident involving Chinese tourists in Taiwan occurred at about 1 p.m. Tuesday at the 2.8-kilometer mark of the freeway on its westbound lane headed toward Taiwan's main gateway.
Freeway surveillance cameras show that the bus was belching smoke and that fire began erupting from the front part of the vehicle before it rammed a guardrail on the outer edge of the freeway.
It was unclear at what point the fire broke out, what caused it, or why the driver did not pull the bus over while it was belching smoke.
An investigation is underway to identify the cause of the accident.
