Stuck Exit Doors on Taiwan Tour Bus Contributed to Deaths

July 20, 2016
All 26 people aboard were killed in the fire.

Taipei -- Some emergency exits were stuck on a Taiwan tour bus that caught fire killing 26 people, police said Wednesday.

The right rear door was blocked by the guardrail it crashed into, and the left rear door was locked by an extra bolt, highway police chief Lu Rui-yao told dpa.

The bus was already on fire when it rammed into the rail on a highway to Taipei's main international airport in Taoyuan on Tuesday, reports said, citing police.

Twenty-four mainland Chinese tourists died as the fire spread from the front of the bus, as well as the Taiwanese driver and tour guide.

Police and the driver of another vehicle that stopped to help were unable to open doors or smash the windows with fire extinguishers.

"The police could not reach windows, which are too high. They could not even open the left rear door," Lu said.

According to the police, many bodies were found at the right rear door of the bus, blocked by the guardrail outside.

Taiwan authorities Wednesday demanded a comprehensive examination of other 20 tour buses of the same type by July 26.

The buses, used by 13 tour companies, are locally built on imported chassis, according to the Directorate General of Highways. The one in the accident had been in use for six years.

A general safety check would also be carried out on around 17,000 tour buses nationwide, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan said Wednesday.

A charter flight for about 30 family members of the victims was to arrive in Taipei late Thursday, Central News Agency reported. Some of them were to undergo DNA tests to help identify the bodies.

On Wednesday, investigators found a melted fuse wire in a safety fuse box, Apple Daily reported. The investigation team will focus on the possibility of electrical failure leading to the fire accident.

Several electrical appliances, such as the fridge and drinking fountains, were placed together near the driver's seat, Apple Daily reported. 

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©2016 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany)

Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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