Tour agency in fatal Guangdong bus crash accused of making false statement on insurance
Leaflets for tour in question may have breached Travel Agents Ordinance by listing coverage that package did not include
The local travel agency responsible for a one-day tour in Guangdong that ended in a bus crash that killed two Hong Kong residents is suspected of making a false statement on insurance and could face expulsion from the Travel Industry Council, the group confirmed on Wednesday.
Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the council, said the agency’s agenda leaflets for members of the day tour appeared to have breached the Travel Agents Ordinance by falsely claiming that the tour was covered by the Package Tour Accident Contingency Fund Scheme, which it did not qualify for.
Tung said the council had required the agency, Big Line Holiday, to file an explanation within 14 days before making a decision on potential punishment. This could involve revoking its council membership and could even affect the agent’s licence.
The coach transporting the tour group hit a stationary vehicle on Qianhaichong Grand Bridge in Nansha in Guangzhou on Monday night when it was returning from a trip to nearby Panyu.
The coach was carrying 44 passengers, and 43 of them were confirmed as Hong Kong residents by the Immigration Department.
Two Hong Kong residents – a man and a woman aged 60 and 61 respectively – were killed, and another 10 were taken to hospitals in Guangdong.
