The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, holds a meeting with Government officials and representatives of the Kiang Wu Hospital, to gain a better understanding on the condition of the injured and the work being done by officials in dealing with the aftermath of the tourist bus accident.
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today (Monday) directed all relevant Government departments to provide all necessary medical and practical assistance to the victims of this afternoon’s accident involving a tourist bus. Mr Chui gave the instruction this evening during a meeting with Government officials and representatives of the Kiang Wu Hospital. The Chief Executive visited the hospital to gain a better understanding on the condition of the injured. At approximately 2.42pm today, the Fire Services Bureau was notified that a tourist bus had crashed into a building in Rua da Entena, near Kiang Wu Hospital. The bus was carrying 44 tourists from several provinces in the mainland that had travelled from Shenzhen in Guangdong Province to Macao. Details of the accident were given during a press conference held this evening at Government Headquarters by the Office of the Government Spokesperson. Representatives of the Fire Services Bureau; the Public Security Police Force; the Health Bureau; the Kiang Wu Hospital; the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau; the Macao Government Tourism Office; and the Social Welfare Bureau attended the press conference. A total of 32 mainland tourists – ranging in age from seven years to 78 – were injured in the accident. A total of 31 of the injured were treated at Kiang Wu Hospital, while one person was sent to the Conde S. Januário Hospital. Among those injured, three patients were said to be in critical situation. Two of the three were being treated in intensive care with non life-threatening head injuries and were conscious when admitted to hospital. The third, a 46-year-old woman with head injuries, remained in a coma after surgery. A further five patients were being kept under observation. The remainder of those that were treated in hospital had since been discharged. The police said the driver of the tourist bus was a local resident and had been kept for questioning following the accident. The police were carrying out further investigations into the cause of the accident: there was suspicion that dangerous driving was involved. One theory is that the driver may have failed to apply the handbrake properly before leaving the bus. The driver told police he left the bus because his vehicle had been hit by another vehicle; he got off to check the situation. The Government has initiated work to reinforce the building hit by the tourist bus. The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau said one of the supporting pillars of the building was seriously damaged in the crash. Only once reinforcement measures were completed could the authorities remove the bus from the scene. The affected building has six storeys, accommodating a total of 21 residential units and six shops. More than 10 residents in the building were evacuated after the accident. The Centre for Victims of Disaster, located in Ilha Verde, has been made available to provide shelter for residents from the affected building. Police on duty at the crash site – along with community associations – were available to provide assistance to affected residents, including arranging admission to the Centre for Victims of Disaster. Officials from the Macao Government Tourism Office and the Tourism Crisis Management Office visited the crash site and the hospitals where the injured were treated, in order to provide assistance to tourists affected by the accident. The accident has been reported to the China National Tourism Administration and the Guangdong Tourism Bureau. The Government would make arrangements to assist relatives of those being treated in hospital to come to Macao.
