TAIPEI, July 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on July 19, 2016 shows the accident site of a coach fire in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. A tourist coach caught fire on a highway near Taoyuan Airport on Tuesday, killing 26 people on board, including 24 mainland tourists from northeastern Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)
TAIPEI, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-six people have died after a fire on a tour bus on a highway near Taoyuan Airport on Tuesday.
Twenty-four of the victims were tourists from the northeastern province of Liaoning on the Chinese mainland and the other two fatalities were the driver and the tour guide, who were both from Taiwan, according to Taiwan authorities.
The bus had crashed into one of the outer lane barriers before the fire broke out. The investigation continues.
Of the tourist fatalities, there were 16 women and 8 men, including three children.
An arrangement will be made as soon as possible for the relatives of the victims to go to Taiwan, said Man Hongwei, director of the Taipei Office of the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office has launched emergency response measures after the fatal accident, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the office.
"We are highly concerned about the safety of our mainland compatriots," Ma said, adding that a working team will be dispatched to Taiwan to assist with handling the aftermath of the accident.
