Families of tour-bus accident victims arrive in Taiwan

TAIPEI, July 21 -- Families of mainland victims of a deadly tour-bus accident that occurred Tuesday in Taiwan arrived on the island via a charter flight on Thursday.

The remains of the victims will be cremated July 24 and a funeral service is scheduled to be held on July 25, according to a statement from the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association.

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

Liu Kezhi, secretary-general of the mainland-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, on Thursday expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the tour-bus accident when briefing the press in Taoyuan City after a remembrance service for those who died in the accident.

Liu said he hopes Taiwan will launch a thorough investigation into the accident and listen to the relatives of the victims when handling the aftermath of the accident.