Death certificates for tour group
Source: Xinhua |
November 4, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FAMILIES of 19 Chinese mainland tourists missing since Typhoon Megi lashed Taiwan a fortnight ago have given up hope of their loved ones being found alive and asked for their death certificates.
The tourists from Guangdong Province have been out of contact since October 21, after the group's bus was hit by Megi-triggered landslides on the Suao-Hualien Highway on Taiwan's east coast.
Yesterday, relatives went to the local prosecutor's office in Ilan County to obtain death certificates for loved ones.
Though their bodies have not been found, family members plan to hold a public memorial ceremony at a funeral home in Taipei today.
The landslides killed one mainland tourist, Gong Yan, and left 23 others missing, including the 19 tourists.
Gong's remains were recovered in the sea on October 25, and DNA tests confirmed her identity last Thursday. She was cremated on Tuesday.
According to Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the island's Travel Agent Association, compensation from Taiwan insurers for each mainland tourist killed in the landslides was expected to be 5.1 million new Taiwan dollars (US$167,598).
Kao Koong-lian, vice chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, visited the relatives of the missing yesterday morning.
He said the search would continue. "I hope that all-out search efforts can console the relatives," he said. "As long as there is still possibility of finding something, the search will go on."
Some relatives hope Taiwan authorities will set up a monument at the landslide site. Kao said the SEF would coordinate with relevant departments to achieve this.
Rescue workers continued their search yesterday. In recent days they have concentrated on three collapsed sections of the highway.
The tourists from Guangdong Province have been out of contact since October 21, after the group's bus was hit by Megi-triggered landslides on the Suao-Hualien Highway on Taiwan's east coast.
Yesterday, relatives went to the local prosecutor's office in Ilan County to obtain death certificates for loved ones.
Though their bodies have not been found, family members plan to hold a public memorial ceremony at a funeral home in Taipei today.
The landslides killed one mainland tourist, Gong Yan, and left 23 others missing, including the 19 tourists.
Gong's remains were recovered in the sea on October 25, and DNA tests confirmed her identity last Thursday. She was cremated on Tuesday.
According to Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the island's Travel Agent Association, compensation from Taiwan insurers for each mainland tourist killed in the landslides was expected to be 5.1 million new Taiwan dollars (US$167,598).
Kao Koong-lian, vice chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, visited the relatives of the missing yesterday morning.
He said the search would continue. "I hope that all-out search efforts can console the relatives," he said. "As long as there is still possibility of finding something, the search will go on."
Some relatives hope Taiwan authorities will set up a monument at the landslide site. Kao said the SEF would coordinate with relevant departments to achieve this.
Rescue workers continued their search yesterday. In recent days they have concentrated on three collapsed sections of the highway.
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