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Relatives to comfort victims of US crash
By Lu Feiran and Li Xinran |
February 3, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THIRTEEN family members of the Chinese tourists who were casualties in an Arizona bus crash were scheduled to fly to the United States this afternoon as investigators tried to figure out why the vehicle suddenly swerved and overturned.
One witness indicated the mishap may have occurred when the driver tried to close a door while the bus was moving.
A China Eastern Airlines flight will carry the relatives to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Shanghai Tourism Administration said yesterday.
The family members will visit their hospitalized relatives and then talk with officials from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles about the accident, officials said. The tourism administration will also arrange for those who have been treated and released to return to China as soon as possible. A second group of family members will depart tomorrow.
"We have invited a China-based attorney to help the families with legal affairs," said Yang Jing, a tourism official.
Seven people were killed and 10 were injured when the bus overturned on Friday night. Four of those who died and seven of the injured are from Shanghai.
Five victims were still being treated yesterday, with two listed in critical condition.
Wu Shuang, an eight-year-old Shanghai boy, left the hospital on Sunday and joined his parents, who were released earlier.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the crash continued. Federal investigators on Sunday closely examined a stretch of rural Arizona highway near Hoover Dam looking for clues, according to The Associated Press.
The six investigative team members were sent to measure and photograph the site, evaluate the condition of the highway and look for skid marks and other clues, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson told the AP.
"These markings can be very important in telling the story of what happened," Knudson said.
After inspecting the crash site, the investigators planned to head south to Kingman to evaluate the bus. That process will include checking whether the wheels and brakes were in good working order and whether any mechanical malfunctions may have caused the accident.
The investigation will take 12 to 18 months to complete, with the bulk of the work conducted at the NTSB's headquarters in Washington, Knudson said.
A woman from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, who survived the accident reportedly said that the front door of the bus opened, and the mishap occurred when the driver tried to close it.
Organized by the Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service, the tourists had left Las Vegas early Friday on a trip to the Grand Canyon and were returning when the bus veered right and then left across the median, rolling at least once before coming to rest across the southbound lanes of the highway.
The bus belonged to DW Tours of southern California. Agnes Wang, from Taiwan, has run the California-based travel agency for about three years, according to the New York-based World Journal.
There were no safety belts on the bus. Some passengers were thrown out of the vehicle when it rolled over.
Local tour agencies said they were not sure whether the US-bound tour market will be affected by the bus crash.
One witness indicated the mishap may have occurred when the driver tried to close a door while the bus was moving.
A China Eastern Airlines flight will carry the relatives to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Shanghai Tourism Administration said yesterday.
The family members will visit their hospitalized relatives and then talk with officials from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles about the accident, officials said. The tourism administration will also arrange for those who have been treated and released to return to China as soon as possible. A second group of family members will depart tomorrow.
"We have invited a China-based attorney to help the families with legal affairs," said Yang Jing, a tourism official.
Seven people were killed and 10 were injured when the bus overturned on Friday night. Four of those who died and seven of the injured are from Shanghai.
Five victims were still being treated yesterday, with two listed in critical condition.
Wu Shuang, an eight-year-old Shanghai boy, left the hospital on Sunday and joined his parents, who were released earlier.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the crash continued. Federal investigators on Sunday closely examined a stretch of rural Arizona highway near Hoover Dam looking for clues, according to The Associated Press.
The six investigative team members were sent to measure and photograph the site, evaluate the condition of the highway and look for skid marks and other clues, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson told the AP.
"These markings can be very important in telling the story of what happened," Knudson said.
After inspecting the crash site, the investigators planned to head south to Kingman to evaluate the bus. That process will include checking whether the wheels and brakes were in good working order and whether any mechanical malfunctions may have caused the accident.
The investigation will take 12 to 18 months to complete, with the bulk of the work conducted at the NTSB's headquarters in Washington, Knudson said.
A woman from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, who survived the accident reportedly said that the front door of the bus opened, and the mishap occurred when the driver tried to close it.
Organized by the Shanghai Donghu International Travel Service, the tourists had left Las Vegas early Friday on a trip to the Grand Canyon and were returning when the bus veered right and then left across the median, rolling at least once before coming to rest across the southbound lanes of the highway.
The bus belonged to DW Tours of southern California. Agnes Wang, from Taiwan, has run the California-based travel agency for about three years, according to the New York-based World Journal.
There were no safety belts on the bus. Some passengers were thrown out of the vehicle when it rolled over.
Local tour agencies said they were not sure whether the US-bound tour market will be affected by the bus crash.
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