The plane took off from Taipei at midnight on Monday, and arrived at Yanji airport after a more than 5-hour non-stop trip.

On board were intensive care equipment, 12 crew and 16 staff members from International SOS Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei emergency centres.

The flight arrived back at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport at about 1 pm.

An agreement allowing for direct charter flights across the Straits in the case of medical emergencies was signed in June.

The first such flight was for a seriously ill Taiwanese man who was flown to Taipei last week from Guangzhou.

"Without a stopover, it saved us about 2 hours in transit time, which provides precious time for the curing of patients," said Charles Van Reenen, medical director from the North Asia Region of International SOS.

The bus accident occurred on September 11 on a highway in Wangqing county. A bus carrying 20 Taiwanese tourists overturned and fell into a river, killing two women and the mainland bus driver.

Three tourists, Yen Wenhsiong, Tseng Mingmei and Yang Suiying, who were all severely injured, were transferred to Beijing for further treatment. Another tourist has already gone back to Taiwan.

"I am looking forward to going home. Thanks to all the doctors and nurses at the hospital; they treated us so well. My thanks also go to the farmers who saved us from the river, or else we would have lost any chance of survival," said Weng Chen Shuyi, whose right arm was fractured in the bus accident.

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