Mainland officials leave for Taiwan for bus accident aftermath

BEIJING, July 20 -- Four mainland officials left Beijing Wednesday noon for Taiwan to assist families of victims of a serious bus accident.

They are from various departments including the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, the statement said.

Twenty-six people, including 23 tourists and a tour guide from the Chinese mainland and two local people -- a driver and a tour guide -- were killed when a tour bus crashed into a barrier on a highway and caught fire near Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan on Tuesday.

Most of the tourists were from northeast China's Liaoning Province. Liaoning officials will also arrive in Taiwan on Wednesday.