Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Samuel Osborne

Taiwan bus crash: 26 people killed as tourist bus bursts into flames

Twenty-six people have been killed after a bus carrying tourists crashed and caught fire in Taiwan.

The coach was carrying 24 tourists on an eight-day tour organised by a travel agency in China's northeastern province of Liaoning, authorities said in a statement.

The driver and the tour guide, both from Taiwan, were also killed.

"The fire moved very fast. All 26 died," Lu Jui-yao, an official with the National Highway Police Bureau, told reporters.

The coach was travelling to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport when it crashed into a roadside barrier.

The official Central News Agency says the accident took place shortly after noon on the No. 2 national highway in Taoyuan county, south of the capital, Taipei. 

Taiwan's cabinet spokesman, Tung Chen-yuan, said government officials dealing with tourism and China affairs had reached out to their mainland counterparts and that they would help arrange for relatives of the victims to come to Taiwan.

Photos from the scene showed flames and thick black smoke pouring from the cab of the bus. 

Additional reporting by agencies

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.