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4 Chinese killed in Utah bus accident identified

China Daily | Updated: 2019-09-23 07:24

A handout photo shows the scene of a multiple-fatality bus crash which occurred near the Bryce Canyon National Park in Bryce Canyon, Utah, on Friday. [Photo/Utah Highway Patrol]

PANGUITCH, Utah - Authorities in Utah on Saturday identified the four Chinese tourists killed in a bus crash in the US state, and the tour company is dispatching employees from China to help those injured.

Three women and one man perished in the crash on a highway running through the red rock landscape of Utah on Friday. The victims have been identified as Ling Geng, 68, Xiuyun Chen, 67, Zhang Caiyu, 62, and Zhongliang Caiyu, 65. They were all from Shanghai.

They were part of a tour group made up of 29 tourists and one leader. They came from Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Heilongjiang, according to a news report on the media website huanqiu.com. The tour leader came from Hebei province, near Beijing, according to the Zhejiang Online news site.

Five passengers remained in critical condition on Friday night, and the death toll could rise, Utah Highway Patrol Sergeant Nick Street said.

All 31 people on board were hurt. Twelve to 15 on board were considered to be in critical condition shortly after the crash, but several of them have since improved, Street said. Not everyone was wearing a seat belt he said.

The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism urged the travel agency, Shanghai Zhuyuan International Travel Agency, to spare no effort in rescuing the injured and handling their affairs.

Lu Yong, the travel agency's general manager, said the agency's partners in the United States sent 10 staff members to hospitals to help the victims communicate with doctors and police.

The News Perspective program, part of the Shanghai Media Group, said in an article on its official social media account that seven relatives of the victims were expected to leave for the US on Monday or Tuesday with travel agency staff and officials from the culture and tourism bureau.

The news program's social media post included photos of parts of the itinerary, indicating the accident occurred on the seventh day of a 16-day trip and also included visits to Yellowstone National Park, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. They were scheduled to fly to the East Coast after the western US stops.

The Chinese embassy in the US said on social media that it was sending staff to help the victims.

The crash happened near a highway rest stop a few miles from southern Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park, an otherworldly landscape of narrow red-rock spires.

Authorities believe the driver swerved on the way to the park on Friday morning. But when he yanked the steering wheel to put the bus back onto the road, the momentum sent the bus into a rollover crash, authorities said.

The driver, a US citizen, survived and was talking with investigators, Street said. He didn't appear to be intoxicated, but authorities were still investigating his condition as well as any possible mechanical problems, he said.

There was some wind, but it was not strong enough to cause problems, Street said.

The US National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to investigate.

Millions of people visit Utah's five national parks every year. Last year, about 87,000 people from China visited the state, making them the fastest-growing group of Utah tourists, according to state data.

More than half of visitors from China travel on tour buses, said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism.

AP

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