AFTERMATH:A charter flight will arrive this afternoon with some relatives of the 24 Chinese tourists who died on Tuesday when their tour bus turned into an inferno
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 21, 2016
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) yesterday vowed to launch
Lawmakers observe a minute’s silence at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday to mourn the 26 people killed in Tuesday’s tour bus fire in Taoyuan. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
reforms of the tour bus industry following Tuesday’s fire that killed 24 Chinese tourists and two Taiwanese — the bus driver and tour guide.
They died after their bus caught fire on National Freeway No. 2 en route to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The group was headed home after an eight-day tour around Taiwan arranged by Kaohsiung-based Chu Long Travel Service Co (鉅龍旅行社).
“The tour bus industry in Taiwan needs reforms. We have to let tourists around the world know that it is safe to travel in Taiwan and should not let the incident damage the morale of the travel industry and become a disgrace,” Hochen said, adding that he hoped the incident would not dampen Chinese travelers’ interest in visiting Taiwan.
The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said that it would work with the Vehicle Safety Certification Center (VSCC) on a random inspection of tour buses. [FULL STORY]
