Image copyright Reuters Image caption The passengers were elderly tourists on a cherry blossom tour

Thirty-two people were killed and 13 injured after their tour bus overturned on a road near Taiwan's capital, Taipei, emergency officials say.

Pictures from the scene showed the tour bus lying on its side.

Most of those on board were local elderly tourists returning from a cherry blossom tour in Taichung, local media said.

Taiwan is considered one of the safest places in the world - but critics say safety standards need to be improved.

News agency CNA said no foreign nationals were thought to be on the bus.

A Taipei official, Tu Bing-cheng, said the incident "happened on a curve, so the bus flipped and that could be due to excess speed".

"The whole frame of the bus changed shape" and was "crushed", he said.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The bus is thought to have flipped off the side of an exit ramp

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rescuers try to free survivors

Twenty ambulances and 200 firefighters were deployed to the scene and rescuers have now extracted all of those on board, CNA added.

The emergency services are using a crane to move the bus into an upright position.

The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals.

Some family members of the deceased are at the scene, reciting prayers for their loved ones, reports say.

In July, 26 people died after a tour bus in Taiwan's Taoyuan city caught fire.

Investigators said a suicidal driver was the cause of that fire.</s>Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) A tour bus overturned on an exit ramp connecting two national freeways in Nangang District in Taipei on Monday night, killing at least 32 people and injuring 12, rescuers and firefighters said.



The tour bus with 44 people on board, including the driver and tour guide, flipped off the side of an exit ramp connecting Freeway No. 5 (from Yilan County to Nangang) to southbound lanes of Freeway No. 3 at around 9 p.m., firefighters said.



Rescuers moved quickly to remove people from the bus, but they found many without any vital signs.







As of 11:45 p.m., 32 people had died in the crash, including two who had been hospitalized, and the other 12 were being treated at nearby hospitals for severe injuries. No foreign nationals were thought to be aboard.



The passengers, most of whom were senior citizens, were returning from a tour of cherry blossoms at Wuling Farm in Taichung.



No immediate explanation of the cause of the accident was given.







(By Sunrise Huang, Chu Tse-wei and Kuo Chung-han)

Enditem/ls</s>At Least 32 People Killed In Tour Bus Crash In Taiwan

A bus packed with elderly tourists flipped onto its side on a highway exit ramp Monday evening in Taiwan near the capital, Taipei, killing at least 32 people, according to multiple news reports.

"The passengers, most of whom were senior citizens, were returning home from a tour of cherry blossoms at Wuling Farm in Taichung," according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. A total of 44 people reportedly were on board the bus, and all are believed to be Taiwanese.

The fire department told Reuters that area hospitals were treating 12 people injured in the crash.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the vehicle to crash.

"It happened on a curve, so the bus flipped and that could be due to excess speed," Tu Bing-cheng, a Taipei city official, told the AP. "The whole frame of the bus changed shape, got crushed and left no openings."

Photos from the scene show a crane attempting to lift the damaged green-and-yellow bus. Others show bodies lying in rows, covered in white cloth.

Last July, a tour bus carrying visitors from mainland China caught fire, killing all 26 people on board, as The Two-Way reported. An investigation later concluded that the driver was suicidal and lit the fire himself, according to the BBC.

And just this month, Reuters reports that "another Taiwanese tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed into a bridge in southern Taiwan, injuring some passengers."</s>Tour bus crashes in Taiwan, at least 32 dead

TAIPEI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed when a tour bus crashed on a highway near Taipei on Monday night, with Taiwanese television footage showing the bus careening toward a road barrier at a highway curve before flipping on its side.

Forty-four people were in the bus, not the previously estimated 45, according to the latest figures from the local fire department.

Thirty were pronounced dead at the scene and two died at the hospital, the fire department said, adding that 12 people were still being treated in hospitals around Taipei, the capital.

Many of the injured were elderly, Taipei City Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-ji said on live local TV.

It was unclear what caused the crash. Local television showed a video of the bus shot from behind flipping onto its side and skidding toward the hillside after it hit a road barrier when negotiating a highway interchange curve.

Ambulances and fire trucks were lined up along the bend of the road as rescue workers used a crane to lift the battered bus from its wheels, after all the passengers were pulled from the wreckage.

"Prosecutors need to get on the site," said cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung on live TV.

The crash is the latest accident involving tour buses in Taiwan. Earlier this month, another Taiwanese tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed into a bridge in southern Taiwan, injuring some passengers.

It followed a grisly murder-suicide last year in which 24 Chinese tourists were killed after the driver set their moving bus on fire.</s>Tour bus crashes in Taiwan, killing at least 32

TAIPEI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed when a tour bus crashed near Taipei on Monday night, with television footage showing the bus careening toward a road barrier before flipping on its side.

Of 44 people on the bus, 30 were pronounced dead at the scene and two died in hospital, the fire department said, adding that 12 people were still being treated in hospitals around Taipei, the capital.

Many of the passengers were elderly, although the age range was early 20s to late 60s, according to city authorities.

The trip had been arranged by the Tieh Lien Hua Travel Agency, according to Taiwan's tourism bureau.

An official with the agency said the tourists were "likely" all from Taiwan, but that it was still looking at passenger information.

"We are making efforts to help with the emergency response and will fully cooperate," Chou Chi-hung told Reuters by telephone.

It was unclear what caused the crash. Local television showed a video of the bus shot from behind flipping onto its side and skidding toward the hillside after it hit a road barrier when negotiating a highway interchange curve.

Ambulances and fire trucks were lined up along the bend of the road as rescue workers used a crane to lift the battered bus from its wheels, after all the passengers were pulled from the wreckage.

"Prosecutors need to get on the site," said cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung on live TV.

The crash is the latest accident involving tour buses in Taiwan. Earlier this month, another Taiwanese tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed into a bridge in southern Taiwan, injuring some passengers.

It followed a grisly murder-suicide last year in which 24 Chinese tourists were killed after the driver set their moving bus on fire. (Reporting by Taipei newsroom; Writing by J.R. Wu; Editing by Larry King)</s>Bus returning from a cherry blossom day trip overturns on an exit ramp in Taiwanese capital, leaving at least 32 dead.

At least 32 people have been killed and 12 wounded when a tour bus flipped over on a highway near Taiwan's capital, Taipei, according to officials.

Most of the passengers - senior citizens returning from a day trip to a popular cherry blossom viewing site - were trapped underneath the crushed vehicle on an exit ramp in the Nangang district of eastern Taipei, state media said on Monday.

Rescue personnel used a crane to pry the vehicle open.

"It happened on a curve, so the bus flipped and that could be due to excess speed," said Tu Bing-cheng, a Taipei city official.

"The whole frame of the bus changed shape, got crushed and left no openings."

The survivors, some of whom were seriously injured, were sent to hospitals nearby..

Authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the accident. Investigators said driver fatigue could not be ruled out, the Apple Daily reported.

A bus driver working for the travel-agency that sold the tour told a local broadcaster that some colleagues had previously complained about the tiring assignment.

A bus accident in Taiwan last July killed 26 tourists from mainland China, raising concern from officials in Beijing about travel safety.</s>At least 32 people were killed when a tour bus crashed near Taipei on Monday night, with television footage showing the bus careening toward a road barrier before flipping on its side.Many of the passengers were elderly, although the age range was early 20s to late 60s, according to city authorities.The trip had been arranged by the Tieh Lien Hua Travel Agency, according to Taiwan's tourism bureau.An official with the agency said the tourists were "likely" all from Taiwan, but that it was still looking at passenger information."We are making efforts to help with the emergency response and will fully cooperate," Chou Chi-hung told Reuters by telephone.Ambulances and fire trucks were lined up along the bend of the road as rescue workers used a crane to lift the battered bus from its wheels, after all the passengers were pulled from the wreckage."Prosecutors need to get on the site," said cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung on live TV.The crash is the latest accident involving tour buses in Taiwan. Earlier this month, another Taiwanese tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed into a bridge in southern Taiwan, injuring some passengers.It followed a grisly murder-suicide last year in which 24 Chinese tourists were killed after the driver set their moving bus on fire.</s>TAIPEI: At least 32 people were killed and more were taken to hospital after a tour bus crashed on a highway in Taiwan on Monday (Feb 13) night.

The bus was carrying 45 people and 13 of them were sent to nearby hospitals, according to the local fire department.

Television footage showed pictures of rescue crews trying to raise the overturned bus on the side of the highway with ambulances and fire trucks lined up along the bend of the road.

Many of the injured were older passengers, local television reported. The deputy mayor of Taipei city said the bus was ferrying them back from a trip to see cherry blossoms in Taichung. It was unclear what caused the accident.</s>A bus carrying Taiwanese tourists on a trip to view cherry blossoms flipped over on an expressway ramp in Taiwan's capital on Monday, killing 32 people and injuring many others, officials said.The bus was carrying 44 people when it crashed Monday evening on the No. 5 expressway, the Taipei city fire department said. It said authorities were still trying to determine the cause of the accident."It happened on a curve, so the bus flipped and that could be due to excess speed," said Tu Bing-cheng, a Taipei city official. "The whole frame of the bus changed shape, got crushed and left no openings."Many passengers were trapped under the crushed bus, and rescue personnel used a crane to pry the vehicle open.Thirty-two people, all Taiwanese, were confirmed dead and the remaining passengers were sent to hospitals for treatment, Tu said.The bus belonged to a private company, he said. It was taking tourists back from a trip to see cherry blossoms when it crashed, Taipei city Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-ji said.A bus accident in Taiwan last July killed 26 tourists from mainland China, raising concern from officials in Beijing about travel safety.</s>TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Investigators were looking into excessive speed as the possible cause of a bus crash in Taiwan that killed 32 people and injured several others in the island’s worst road accident in more than three decades, an official said Tuesday.

The bus flipped over Monday evening while cornering on an expressway ramp in Taiwan’s capital Taipei after taking a tour group to view cherry blossoms.

Highway police spokesman Ma Ling-wen said the speed limit on the ramp was 40 kph (25 mph) but it was not clear how fast the bus had been going. Ma said speed had not yet been ruled out as a cause of the crash.

The bus was carrying 44 people, mainly senior citizens, many of whom were trapped under the crushed wreckage. Rescuers were forced to use a crane to pry the vehicle open.

Thirty-two people, all Taiwanese, were confirmed dead and the remaining passengers were sent to hospitals for treatment. Both the bus driver and tour guide were among the dead.

Taiwan’s Premier Lin Chuan told reporters the government would provide assistance to the bereaved families and conduct a “thorough review” once the immediate work had been completed, the official Central News Agency reported.

The agency said the accident was the worst ever on Taiwan’s highway network and the island’s deadliest since a tour bus crashed into a ravine on a winding mountain road on Oct. 8, 1986, killing 42 people.

The bus belonged to the private Yongli Keyun transit company and had been turning off the No. 5 freeway onto the No. 3 freeway in the eastern Taipei district of Nangang when it crashed at about 9 p.m.

A bus accident in Taiwan last July killed 26 tourists from mainland China, prompting an across-the-board review of tour bus safety. Investigators said the driver in that crash was drunk and had intentionally set the bus alight as it traveled to Taiwan’s main airport.
At least 34 people are killed after a tour bus, carrying mostly local elderly tourists, overturns on a freeway in Taipei, Taiwan.