TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Over half the buses of the type in which 26 people died in a blaze on July 19 revealed problems during checks, reports said Wednesday.
The driver, a Taiwanese tour guide, a Chinese guide and 23 visitors from northeastern China’s province of Liaoning died after a fire started on their tour bus, ending with a crash against the railings on the No.2 Freeway.
Preliminary reports indicated that an electrical short-circuit might have been to blame, while an emergency exit also failed to open, locking all 26 people inside with no way out.
In the wake of the calamity, the authorities ordered a thorough review of tour bus safety. The Directorate General of Highways had all 20 buses of the type in the accident taken off the roads and checked.
According to the results announced Wednesday, 12 of the 20 buses did not conform to the regulations. In nine of the vehicles, problems were found with the wiring, while the others had irregular lighting and seating issues, reports said.
The Directorate General of Highways is setting a period of one month during which repairs should be made, while at the end new tests will have to show whether the buses can be allowed on the streets again.
There were questions about whether the problems were caused by irregular work at the original assembly plant for the vehicles or during later changes made on the initiative of the bus owners.
During the inspections, emergency exits were checked to see if they could be opened from the inside and if illegal hidden locks had been removed.
Most of the relatives of the 24 Chinese citizens left Taiwan by Wednesday after the bodies of the victims were cremated. With the exception of one family, they all settled for a compensation of NT$6.64 million (US$207,000) per victim from the insurance company which covered the bus owner, reports said.