15 mainland tourists injured in Taiwan remain in hospital

CHIAYI, Taiwan - Fifteen of the 24 mainland tourists injured in a road accident in the Taiwan city of Chiayi are still under hospital observation, the island's tourism authorities said Saturday.

The authorities also said all injured tourists have received proper medical treatment at four local hospitals, adding that two tourists who were in intensive care at a local Catholic hospital have been transferred to public wards. The conditions of other tourists have stabilized.

Sources said the tourist group would not be continuing with their original schedule.

The accident happened around 1 p.m. Friday, when a bus carrying the tourists from the mainland's city of Guangzhou hit the roof of a tunnel in downtown Chiayi. It is believed that the vehicle's driver failed to note the tunnel's height limit. A tour guide was also on the bus.

Last month, a tour bus accident in Taiwan's Hsinchu killed the driver with four tourists from the Chinese mainland left seriously injured after the vehicle overturned because of a burst of rear-left tyre. Also in July, 13 mainland travelers sustained minor injuries in central Taiwan's mountainous Alishan Scenic area when the passenger vehicle veered into a roadside ditch.

Taiwan has seen an increasing number of deaths and injuries of tourists since the island agreed to open the door to mainland visitors four years ago.

In May at a press conference in Beijing, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Fan Liqing said that the mainland and Taiwan should work together to ensure the safety of tourists.