Tourism bus crashes, 32 injured

A tourism bus with 46 passengers on board crashed against a building on Rua da Entena, close to the Kiang Wu Hospital, leaving 32 passengers injured. Three of the victims are in a serious condition, including one whose medical condition is considered critical.
The bus was carrying a tour group that arrived from Shenzhen for a short one-day visit. The group included tourists from several different regions and provinces of mainland China and was expecting to leave the territory yesterday by 5 p.m.
The driver was allegedly outside of the vehicle trying to resolve a smaller traffic accident when the bus, which according to preliminary conclusions from the Public Security Police Force (PSP) did not have its brake applied successfully, started to roll down the road.
“The driver didn’t brake the bus properly [before leaving his position],” the acting deputy commissioner of the PSP, Wong Chi Fai said in a press conference held yesterday evening at the government headquarters to discuss the accident.
The passenger in the most serious condition following the accident is a 46-year-old woman with a severe brain injury.
The woman is “currently in a coma after having been submitted to a surgical intervention to stop the brain from bleeding,” the director of the Health Bureau (SSM), Lei Chin Ion said, adding that her condition is considered critical and life threatening.

Another two women also suffered serious injuries related to the brain and to internal and external bleedings, as well as multiple bone fractures.
All three are currently at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Kiang Wu Hospital and have been joined by another six passengers who will spend at least a day in the hospital under observation for several bone fractures on their feet, ribs, legs, eye sockets and jaws, informed a representative of Kiang Wu’s Emergency Services responsible.
In the immediate moments following the accident, which occurred around 2:40 p.m., it was thought that a passer-by might have been struck by the bus due to a shared image of a person pictured unconscious and heavily bleeding next to the bus. However, Lei Chin Ion confirmed to the Times during the press conference yesterday evening that “all the injured were passengers of the bus. No passer-by was involved [in the accident].”
The police force representative also added that the bus driver, a local resident over 50 years old and considered “experienced” at the job had already been “invited” by the PSP to assist the Police Traffic Department in their investigation of the accident.
Although “the responsibilities and culpability of the driver for the accident has yet to be verfied,” Wong said the driver is being investigated for “inappropriate practices in his driving.”

Building hit by out-of-control bus evacuated

The building that was struck by the bus may also be in danger, said the director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Li Canfeng.
“The pillar [hit by the bus] is a main pillar and an important part of the building’s structure,” he said, adding “we [DSSOPT] have already taken measures to temporarily support [the building’s integrity] and we are requesting the collaboration of the Civil Engineering Laboratory of Macau to conduct a follow-up on the case in the next few days.”
As for the building’s residents, those who were at home when the accident occurred (10) were “all evacuated from the building,” the second-in-command at the Fire Services, Chao Ka Cheong, informed.
Li said that DSSOPT will conduct permanent monitoring of the building in loco with the appropriate equipment. “At the moment is not convenient to hold an intensive inspection to the interior. We are studying the possibilities and will decide after [this first analysis],” adding “for the time being residents will be prevented from entering their homes.”
The bus will also remain in place “inserted into the pillar and will only be removed after the building support [restoration] works,” he informed, to ensure the structure’s integrity.
Residents who require assistance from Welfare Affairs Bureau (IAS) will be temporally lodged in the Shelter Center at Ilha Verde, said Au Chi Keung, vice president of the IAS. He said six families are already lodged in the Ilha Verde Centre for Victims of Disaster.
The passengers suffering from minor injuries are being accommodated in local hotels, confirmed the Tourism Office deputy director, Cheng Wai Tong.
He also added that the unaffected members of the tour group have “already returned to mainland to continue their trip or return home this afternoon.”