4 Chinese tourists dead, over 20 injured in tour bus crash in Utah, US

Authorities on Saturday identified the four Chinese tourists killed in a bus crash in southern Utah, and the tour group is dispatching employees from China to help those injured.

Three women and one man perished in the crash on a highway running through the red-rock landscape of southern Utah on Friday. The victims have been identified as Ling Geng, 68, Xiuyun Chen, 67, Zhang Caiyu, 62, and Zhongliang Caiyu, 65. They were all from Shanghai, China.

They were part of a tour group, organized by Shanghai Zhuyuan International Travel Agency, that was made up of 29 tourists and one person leading the group. They come from Shanghai and the nearby provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Heilongjiang, according to a news report on the media website huanqiu.com.

The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism urged the travel agency to spare no effort in rescuing the injured and properly handle the follow-up matters.

The Zhuyuan Travel Agency has organized a working group to rush to the scene as soon as possible and try to help the injured tourists. Phone calls to the travel agency rang unanswered Sunday morning.

Five passengers remained in critical condition Friday night, and the death toll could rise, the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) Sgt. Nick Street said.

All 31 people on board were hurt. Twelve to 15 on board were considered to be in critical condition shortly after the crash, but several of them have since improved, Street said. Not everyone was wearing a seatbelt, as is common in tour buses, he said.

The crash occurred before Friday noon on the state road 12 (SR-12), about 5.6 km west of Bryce Canyon, according to authorities and staff of the park.

According UHP, the tour bus was eastbound on SR-12 heading towards Bryce Canyon. The bus drifted off the road to the right. The driver overcorrected to the left and the bus rolled over, during which it landed on a guardrail and then came to rest on its wheels blocking the westbound lane.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States said the bus was carrying a Chinese tour group into Bryce Canyon in Garfield County.

The embassy said in a statement that it has been in touch with local police for further details regarding the accident and has dispatched an emergency team to provide assistance for the victims.

Three helicopters were dispatched and multiple agencies were involved, said the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

A video footage acquired by Xinhua showed the top of the white bus was smashed with one side peeled away. The footage was shot by a Chinese tourist on a bus passing by the scene. Screams and sighs could be heard in the video.

The UHP said multiple air ambulances and rescue crews have been dispatched.

The injured have been taken to area hospitals throughout southern Utah, and several were transported by an air ambulance, according to the UHP.

The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent US government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation, tweeted Friday afternoon it was launching a team to investigate the crash.

Garfield County Commissioner Leland Pollock told media that he felt terrible for those involved in the crash.

"This is pretty overwhelming for a little county of 4,900 people. This is just horrible for us," he was quoted by US media as saying.

Some victims were treated at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Panguitch City, Utah, according to media reports.

The hospital tweeted Friday night it has received 19 patients so far, among whom 11 have been transferred, one admitted and seven discharged.

"I grieve with all who lost loved ones in this crash and I'm grateful for the quick work of first responders, as well as all those who are volunteering to act as translators," Utah Governor Gary Herbert tweeted.

Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is known for its unique geology, according to the National Park Service website.

AP - Xinhua