Tourist still in hospital after bus crash on Tuesday

Representatives of the Public Security Police Force and the Fire Services Bureau give an on-site brie ng regarding Tuesday’s serious traf c accident

Twenty-nine tourists from a Hunan tour group left Macau on Tuesday after being involved in a tour bus accident the same day.
According to a statement issued by the Tourism Crisis Management Office, 34 tourists from a Shandong tour group were also involved in the incident, of which two were hospitalized. The remainder also left the region on Tuesday.
Yesterday the bureau confirmed that one of the two hopsitalized individuals had been discharged while the other remains in a stable condition and is expected to be discharged in the next one or two days.

Once the individuals are discharged from the hospital, they will depart Macau.

The crash occurred between two tour buses and a private vehicle in Avenida Marginal Flor de Lotus in Taipa on Tuesday afternoon.

The accident sent 57 mainland visitors to the public hospital for bone fractures and bruise treatments.

However, only two suffered serious injuries and they were both conscious and stable while being taken to the hospital.   

“There was a car in front of me […] then it stopped and so I followed suit. Then the tour bus crashed into me,” said the driver of the car to reporters, as cited in TDM.

“I didn’t know if that private car had crashed or not. It stopped and I was behind it. I didn’t even manage to make a quick brake,” the tour bus driver said.

11 emergency vehicles were called in response to the incident.

Firefighters broke the windows of the second tour bus to rescue the injured passengers using a variety of specialised tools.

“A double wrench had to be used to rescue the injured people. We also had to use medical equipment. Therefore, we sent for different types of vehicles,” said Chan Chi Man, district chief at the Fire Services’ Taipa station.

The Public Security Police speculated that the second tour bus failed to brake in time, crashing against the first tour bus in front of it, in turn causing it to run into the car.

“As for the final cause of the traffic accident, we will investigate the testimony of the individuals on the scene and surveillance recordings and others before we reach a conclusion,” said Ma Chio Hong, chief of the police’s Traffic Department.