New York Tour Bus Crash: A 65-year-old Indian man from Bihar was among the five people who were killed in a fatal crash involving a tourist bus carrying 54 people that was returning from Niagara Falls, the New York police said Saturday. Apart from Indian tourists, the bus was carrying passengers from China and the Philippines. The police said some of them were ejected from the bus after the fatal crash, while some tourists remained trapped inside the wreckage for several hours. A BBC report quoted witnesses who said that the bus lost control and overturned about 64 kilometres from Niagara Falls, which is considered as one of the major tourist attractions on the US-Canada border. The New York police said the cause of the accident remains under investigation, however the operator, Bin Shao, 55 of Flushing, New York had no signs of impairment and the tour bus had no mechanical failure. According to a statement released by the New York Police on Saturday, the five deceased tourists who were identified in the crash are: Shankar Kumar Jha, 65 of Madhu Bani, India Pinki Changrani, 60 of East Brunswick NJ Xie Hongzhuo, 22 of Beijing, China a Columbia University Student NYC Zhang Xiaolan, 55 of Jersey City, NJ Jian Mingli, 56 of Jersey City, NJ The New York police in the statement said, “Investigation determined that a 2005 Van Wool Bus and Coach tour bus owned by M&Y Tour Inc out of Staten Island, NY was travelling eastbound on the I-90 from Niagara Falls, NY to New York City.” Reports suggested that 24 adult patients were admitted to a local hospital as doctors said they are expected to make a full recovery. Other hospitals in the area also received patients, while those under the age of 16 were taken to a children's hospital. According to New York State Police troop commander, Andre Ray major, “The cause of the collision is still under investigation. However, mechanical failure as well as operator impairment have been ruled out at this time.” (with inputs from BBC)
