Tape blames unlicensed worker for bus blaze: reports

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An unauthenticated tape recording suggested that the bus blaze which killed 26 people earlier in the week might have been caused by an unlicensed technician, media reports said Saturday.

On July 19, a fire broke out on a bus taking a group of Chinese tourists to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at the end of an eight-day tour of the country. The vehicle smashed into the railings of the No.2 Freeway, and all people on board perished, the Taiwanese driver, a Taiwanese tour guide, 23 tourists from the Chinese province of Liaoning and their Chinese guide.

A short circuit was seen as a possibility for the cause of the smoke and fire, but there were also still questions about why nobody succeeded in opening emergency doors.

According to unconfirmed reports Saturday, a sound recording was doing the rounds on the Internet of a conversation between an employee of the bus company and an outside technician.     [FULL STORY]