TAIPEI: A tour bus fire in July that killed 24 mainland Chinese tourists on board was likely caused by the suicidal driver of the bus, prosecutors said on Saturday.
In a statement, the Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office said their investigation found that the Taiwanese driver, identified by his surname Su, was driving under the influence of alcohol when the incident happened on July 19.
Su, who had just lost his appeal in a sexual assault case, had revealed to his family members days before the incident that he wanted to kill himself.
He set the bus on fire using petrol purchased a few days before the tragedy and placed behind the driver's seat and in the luggage area on the bottom level of the bus.
The fire broke out as the bus was heading to Taoyuan International Airport, west of Taipei. The Chinese tour group, which entered Taiwan on July 12 for a one-week trip, was due to catch a flight back to the mainland in the afternoon.
The bus subsequently hit a highway fence on the inside lane and then a fence on the outside lane before it was engulfed in flames and reduced to a charred shell.
While there were at least five emergency exits on the bus, all of the passengers on board struggled in vain to escape.
Among the people who perished were three children aged between 12 and 13. Besides the 24 Chinese tourists from eastern Liaoning Province, Su and the tour guide, both Taiwanese, also died.
Reports on the fire ruled out the possibility that the fire was caused by a short circuit of the fuse box located behind the driver.
Because Su is dead, there will be no case made against him.
The Mainland Affairs Council expressed hope on Saturday that the isolated case would not have a negative impact on tourism from China.
However, statistics show the number of group tourists from mainland China was down by half last month compared to July.