Chinese tourists praised for stopping runaway bus

Several Chinese tourists helped stop a speeding airport bus on a highway in Seoul, South Korea, when its driver suddenly collapsed at the wheel — an act of coolheaded teamwork that has been hailed on Chinese and South Korean social media.

On Saturday afternoon, the No 6015 airport bus was traveling from central Seoul to Incheon International Airport with about 20 passengers, most of them being Chinese tourists. When the driver lost consciousness, the bus scraped a roadside guardrail.

Sun Qian, a healthcare professional in her 30s from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, who was in Seoul to learn about a local program, was seated in the second row behind the driver.

"I thought he might have fallen asleep or fainted," she told China Daily. "The bus was veering out of control, so I rushed and grabbed the steering wheel and tried to steady the vehicle."

At the same time, another female passenger hurried to find the emergency brake.

"Within seconds, we brought the vehicle under control by pressing the emergency brake button and pulling the hand brake," Sun said. "I do know how to drive a car, but the steering wheel of a bus is bigger. I was really nervous, but felt relieved when we managed to stop it safely."

Next to Sun sat her friend Du He, 33, who also acted without hesitation.

"While they were controlling the steering wheel, I tried to apply some first-aid measures," Du, also from Nanjing, told China Daily. "But I soon saw that his entire face was turning purple."

Passengers helped transfer the driver to the aisle of the bus and took turns to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she said.