Bus with Taiwanese tourists falls into river in Fujian, two dead
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 25 May, 2014, 11:54am
UPDATED : Sunday, 25 May, 2014, 11:55am
Associated Press in Beijing
Rescuers search for missing people on Jiulong River, Fujian Province. Photo: Xinhua
Hundreds of rescuers were searching Saturday for five missing Taiwanese tourists after their bus plunged into a river in southeastern China, killing two and injuring 11, state media reported.
The bus carrying 26 people fell into a section of a major river in Fujian province at around noon Friday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
The 24 passengers were Taiwanese, and 17 of them were safely rescued. Two others were pulled out from the river but died later, and five were still missing, Xinhua said.
Eleven of the rescued passengers were injured, including three seriously, according to a statement on the website of the Zhangzhou city government, which oversees the area.
The other two people on the bus — the driver and a tour guide, both non-Taiwanese — were also rescued.
The bus belonged to a travel company in Fujian’s Xiamen city. Xinhua said police were questioning the driver.
More than 700 soldiers, police officers and rescuers using 50 boats searched for the missing, with over 200 residents assisting. The bus fell into the Jiulong River near Shajian township in a rural area of Hua’an county.
Rescuers retrieve the tourist bus that fell into the Jiulong River, Fujian Province. Photo: Xinhua
