Fifteen Taiwan tourists, including six who were injured in a bus crash last Sunday in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, flew home on Friday on a direct Cross-Straits charter flight.

The body of one person, Fu Hsueh-chi, 52, who died in the crash was also put on the flight.

Organized by International SOS, they arrived at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport at 11 am. The cabin of the plane was converted to accommodate five stretchers and medical equipment.

Before boarding the plane, doctors from Jinan Central Hospital gave the injured a final examination to see if they were fit to travel, Li Tao, an official with the Taiwan Affairs Office of Jinan, said.

Five medical teams comprising 13 intensive-care medical personnel and three counselors from International SOS Beijing and Taipei escorted the patients.

Alan Taylor, chief medical officer with International SOS China said: "Despite the complex nature of the injuries of the survivors, the flight to Taipei was smooth."

"The fact that we were able to fly directly from Jinan to Taipei without a stopover in Hong Kong reduced flight time, which allowed the patients to arrive home earlier."

The victims, their families, and Syu Shu-ling, an official representing Taiwan, extended their gratitude to the Shandong and Jinan governments on Friday.

Police said earlier that a bus driver was responsible for causing the accident. He crashed head-on into the coach carrying the tourists who were on their way from Jinan to the city of Qufu, the home of Chinese philosopher Confucius.

The accident is still under investigation.

(China Daily 07/21/2007 page2)