2nd LD-Writethru: Families of bus accident victims ready to fly to Taiwan

SHENYANG, July 20-- Families of victims of a deadly tour bus accident that occurred Tuesday in Taiwan are ready to fly to the island from Liaoning Province.

Required documents for 55 relatives were processed overnight and issued Wednesday afternoon, the provincial public security department said.

A chartered Air Bus A320, operated by China Southern Airlines, is confirmed to depart at 1:15 p.m. Thursday from Dalian to Taipei.

The provincial government sent a working group to assist handling of the aftermath. The first batch of five officials is expected to land in Taipei at 6 p.m. A second group is being organized.

Another four mainland officials from various departments, including the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, already arrived in Taiwan in the afternoon.

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