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)
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