Airport bus crash injures 32

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) A single-vehicle crash early Friday morning at Taoyuan International Airport injured 32 people, 22 of whom were foreign visitors.

Kuo-kuang Motor Transport said its route 1819 bus crashed into a wall at the Terminal 1 bus station exit at around 1:35 a.m. as it was departing for Taipei Main Station.

The injured included 11 South Koreans, four Japanese, four people from Myanmar, two French nationals, one Malaysian, nine Taiwanese passengers and the driver. Most sustained only abrasions and lacerations, according to the transport company.

All were taken to the hospital and have since been discharged.

No issues were found with the vehicle, its registration, or the driver's license, and the driver tested negative for alcohol, the company said.

The company initially said the accident may have been caused by brake failure and a misjudged turn, but the exact cause is still under police investigation.

The company said its vice president and an inspection manager visited the airport to assist with the response.

The airport company said it activated emergency response protocols immediately after receiving a report of the accident, dispatching the airport fire brigade, a medical team, firefighters from the Taoyuan Fire Department and aviation police to the scene.

Later, the airport's Bureau of Consular Affairs office was informed to assist in contacting the visitors' foreign consulates.

The injured were sent for treatment by 2:48 a.m., the bus towed away at 3:43 a.m., and the site cleared up and restored for traffic at 4:03 a.m., the airport said.

The airport added that it has asked the transport company to assume responsibility for compensation, and claims can be made at the company's airport station.