At least 13 Chinese citizens are dead and 31 injured after a tour bus skidded off the road in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos on Monday. All told, 46 people were on the bus – 44 of whom were Chinese nationals, mostly hailing from Jiangsu province.
To be fair, reports on the number of dead vary, with some outlets reporting 13 deceased, while others have put the number at 14. Two Chinese tourists are also believed to be missing in the aftermath of the incident.
The bus was traveling from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to a popular tourist destination in the north of the country, Luang Prabang, when it skidded off the road.
While Phoenix Satellite Television has speculated on the cause of the crash, stating that Laos is in the middle of the rainy season and the roads aren’t that good to begin with, China Daily reports that police in Laos believe brake failure to be the likely cause.
Image via @广州日报大洋网/Weibo
Eight of the seriously injured passengers were evacuated to Vientiane for medical treatment while most of the passengers with lighter injuries stayed in Luang Prabang. According to China Daily, the People’s Liberation Army was in Laos for Peace Train 2019 and was conveniently on hand to help with the rescue efforts.
According to the Chinese Embassy in Laos, China’s ambassador to the country visited the survivors in the hospital on Tuesday after the crash.
Image via Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Laos Democratic People’s Republic
[Cover image via @株洲发布/Weibo]
0 User Comments