1 dead, 12 injured in Gansu bus accident involving Taiwanese group: SEF

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) One member of a Taiwanese tour group was killed and 12 others were injured when their tour bus rolled over in China's Gansu Province on Friday, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Saturday.

The SEF said the group, comprising more than 30 Taiwanese travelers, departed for China on Monday. The accident occurred when a sightseeing vehicle carrying 15 passengers overturned.

Of the 12 people who were injured, nine were still under hospital observation as of Saturday afternoon, the SEF said, but it did not offer any other details on how the accident occurred or what caused it.

The SEF said it contacted the Taipei Association of Travel Agents and a local Taiwanese business association after receiving the report, and is working with the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Ministry of the Interior on follow-up arrangements.

In a press statement the same day, the MAC expressed condolences to the family and said it is working through the SEF to assist those affected.

According to the MAC, the travel agency that arranged the tour had taken out liability insurance covering accidental death and medical expenses, and tourism authorities have asked the agency to help families travel to China to handle related matters.

It remains unclear why the group tour was able to go on the trip given that Taiwan continues to ban organized travel to China.

In a separate statement, the Tourism Administration said the group was a "self-arranged group of travelers and their relatives and friends" on a tour to China organized by Hsi Hung Travel Service Co. from April 20 to May 1.

The administration, however, did not say whether such an arrangement was legal or illegal under the group tour ban to China.

Taiwan first imposed the ban in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although authorities announced plans in late 2023 to lift it in March 2024, the policy was maintained in June 2024 because China failed to reciprocate and allow Chinese groups to visit Taiwan.

Taiwan's move was also in response to China's unilateral adjustment of its flight route close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait.