A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed Friday afternoon on a highway near Hoover Dam, killing seven passengers and injuring nine others, authorities said.
Six fatalities were confirmed on the scene, about 40 miles northwest of Kingman; a seventh person died at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, said Cmdr. Dean Nyhart with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Nyhart said the bus was traveling north on U.S. 93 when it veered left and then right across the median. It rolled at least once before stopping.
He said he believes all but one of the victims killed at the scene had been ejected from the bus. About half of those killed were women, he said.
According to witnesses, the passengers ranged in age from about 6 to 60 years old.
Nyhart said five people suffered life-threatening injuries.
“We’re hopeful that those people can be stabilized and at least the death toll stop where it is,” he said.
The driver of the bus was among those in critical condition, he said.
Nyhart said the tourists on the bus were Chinese nationals who had flown from Shanghai to San Francisco. The tour group consisted of citizens from various parts of mainland China.
There were 16 people on the 30-passenger bus, which is operated by D.W. Tours out of San Gabriel, Calif.
The crash occurred as the group was returning to Las Vegas from a day trip to the Grand Canyon, according to a DPS statement.
Some people rushed to the scene from a nearby diner shortly after the crash.
“There was a lot of bodies on the ground. There was a lot of police officers, rangers, DPS, medical people, all over the place. It was just horrific,” said Ben, a maintenance worker at Rosie’s Den who would not give his last name.
He said the bus was turned on its side and crushed in the front.
Four people remained hospitalized at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, including the driver, a 61-year-old man in critical condition.
The others were: a 35-year-old woman in serious condition, a woman in critical condition whose age was unknown; an 8-year-old boy in serious condition; and a 48-year-old man in serious condition.
Ryan Kennedy, a spokesman for Kingman Regional Medical Center, said that one victim, an adult male in critical condition, was transported to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.
The remaining four – three women and one man – were all listed in serious condition.
DPS continues its investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting its own investigation.
Tour-bus accident claims 7, injures 9
