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6 Shanghai tourists, guide die as bus rolls on US holiday trip
By Staff Reporters |
February 1, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SIX Shanghai tourists and their American tour guide died and at least 10 others were injured after a charter bus traveling to Las Vegas overturned yesterday morning (Shanghai time) south of the Hoover Dam in Arizona.
A Shanghai Tourism Bureau spokeswoman said that the 20-person group was organized by the Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service for a package tour to the United States during the Spring Festival.
All flew from Shanghai to San Francisco on January 24.
Fifteen of them signed on for a one-day tour to the Grand Canyon organized by the US-based Galaxy Tour Inc on Friday while the other five stayed in hotel for rest, according to the spokeswoman.
Seventeen people including the tour guide and bus driver from Galaxy were on board when the accident happened. Six people died at the scene and another died later at a Las Vegas hospital, according to Shanghai Tourism Bureau.
Conditions
Two of the 10 injured people who were rushed to two local hospitals have been discharged while the others remained hospitalized.
The Shanghai Tourism Bureau late last night released names of four tourists whose conditions were satisfactory: Wu Shougui, Wu Shuang, Bao Ruihua and Xie Tianyi.
The Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service said it had sent representatives to the US to deal with the accident.
"Once the death list is announced, we will organize the families of the victims to come to the country to pay their last respects," said Jiang Hanyao, the company's general manager.
The Galaxy Tour company will also liaise with the hospital and Chinese and US insurance agents.
"At present the hospitals won't let our officials in, or advise whether the conditions of the injured have improved or deteriorated," Charlie Shao, Galaxy's general manager, told Shanghai Daily by telephone last night.
The identities of the dead were not immediately available, the Shanghai tourism spokeswoman said, adding American authorities would be releasing details.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng yesterday instructed the local tourism bureau to keep contact with the travel group to get more details. The Shanghai government was awaiting further reports from American authorities.
The tour group had visited Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon before the traffic accident.
The bus overturned at 3:04pm Friday, Las Vegas time, while traveling north from the west rim of the Grand Canyon on a four-lane divided highway about 43.5 kilometers south of the Hoover Dam. The bus, a 2007 Chevrolet Starcraft, overturned and landed on its right side, said Arizona Department of Public Safety's James Warriner.
The accident cut off all transport on the US 93 expressway.
Witnesses said that the bus lost control and rolled at least once before it stopped.
Some passers-by immediately joined rescue efforts and distributed water as well as sheets among the injured.
Sheila Larsen, who works at Rosie's Den, said she went outside after hearing a loud crash and screams and found people lying on the roadway, with paper and money strewn across the area.
She said the best she could do to comfort the victims was bring them blankets, towels and water. "The woman I was trying to comfort didn't speak English. I was trying to comfort her and she died," Larsen said.
America police authorities said it was the most serious traffic accident on the 93 expressway in recent years.
Interprters were brought in to assist survivors. Investigators had ruled out the possibility of speeding as a cause of the accident.
A Shanghai Tourism Bureau spokeswoman said that the 20-person group was organized by the Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service for a package tour to the United States during the Spring Festival.
All flew from Shanghai to San Francisco on January 24.
Fifteen of them signed on for a one-day tour to the Grand Canyon organized by the US-based Galaxy Tour Inc on Friday while the other five stayed in hotel for rest, according to the spokeswoman.
Seventeen people including the tour guide and bus driver from Galaxy were on board when the accident happened. Six people died at the scene and another died later at a Las Vegas hospital, according to Shanghai Tourism Bureau.
Conditions
Two of the 10 injured people who were rushed to two local hospitals have been discharged while the others remained hospitalized.
The Shanghai Tourism Bureau late last night released names of four tourists whose conditions were satisfactory: Wu Shougui, Wu Shuang, Bao Ruihua and Xie Tianyi.
The Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service said it had sent representatives to the US to deal with the accident.
"Once the death list is announced, we will organize the families of the victims to come to the country to pay their last respects," said Jiang Hanyao, the company's general manager.
The Galaxy Tour company will also liaise with the hospital and Chinese and US insurance agents.
"At present the hospitals won't let our officials in, or advise whether the conditions of the injured have improved or deteriorated," Charlie Shao, Galaxy's general manager, told Shanghai Daily by telephone last night.
The identities of the dead were not immediately available, the Shanghai tourism spokeswoman said, adding American authorities would be releasing details.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng yesterday instructed the local tourism bureau to keep contact with the travel group to get more details. The Shanghai government was awaiting further reports from American authorities.
The tour group had visited Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon before the traffic accident.
The bus overturned at 3:04pm Friday, Las Vegas time, while traveling north from the west rim of the Grand Canyon on a four-lane divided highway about 43.5 kilometers south of the Hoover Dam. The bus, a 2007 Chevrolet Starcraft, overturned and landed on its right side, said Arizona Department of Public Safety's James Warriner.
The accident cut off all transport on the US 93 expressway.
Witnesses said that the bus lost control and rolled at least once before it stopped.
Some passers-by immediately joined rescue efforts and distributed water as well as sheets among the injured.
Sheila Larsen, who works at Rosie's Den, said she went outside after hearing a loud crash and screams and found people lying on the roadway, with paper and money strewn across the area.
She said the best she could do to comfort the victims was bring them blankets, towels and water. "The woman I was trying to comfort didn't speak English. I was trying to comfort her and she died," Larsen said.
America police authorities said it was the most serious traffic accident on the 93 expressway in recent years.
Interprters were brought in to assist survivors. Investigators had ruled out the possibility of speeding as a cause of the accident.
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