At least 32 tourists from the Chinese mainland were injured on Monday when a tour bus crashed into a building in Macao. The driver has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, according to the special administrative region's authorities.
Macao Health Bureau said 32 people were injured, three of whom were in a serious condition. A 46-year-old woman sustained fractures to the skull and remains unconscious after her surgery. Currently eleven injured tourists have been treated and discharged from the hospital.
According to Macao Public Security Police Force (PSPF), the accident happened when the bus stopped on a slope in a street close to the Ruins of St. Paul, one of Macao's famous tourist attractions. A white van had hit the bus and the driver got off to check the situation.
The bus suddenly moved down the slope without the driver and crashed into a clinic beside the road. Both the bus and the clinic were severely damaged.
PSPF Acting Deputy Commissioner Wong Chi Fai said the initial investigation report showed that the driver failed to pull the handbrake up before getting off the bus.
According to Macao's tourism authorities, the injured civilians are all from a tourist group originating from Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong province. With a one-day itinerary in Macao, the group had arrived in the morning and planned to leave Macao this afternoon.
Tourism authorities are currently communicating with the involved tourist agencies and attempting to help family members visit the injured party.
Macao's Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau Director Li Canfeng said the building where the clinic is located was severely damaged. Currently six households in that building have moved into an emergency facility.
Macao SAR Chief Executive Chui Sai On visited the injured tourists in Kiang Wu Hospital on Monday afternoon. He said the SAR government will spare no efforts to treat the injured.
