All of the 41 Singaporean and Malaysian tourists who were injured in a road accident in the Jiuzhaigou scenic area of southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday afternoon, are out of medical danger, a local source confirmed to China Daily yesterday.

"But out of caution, all of them are still being kept in ward for further observation,'' said Liao Zhilin, an official with Huaxi Hospital in Chengdu, the provincial capital.

"Few of the injured are suffering from dangerous head injuries. But many of them are elderly people suffering from high pressure or diabetes. Therefore, any delay enhances their chances of developing delayed complications from minor bone fractures in the aftermath of severe mental shock.''

The only foreign tourist killed in the accident died on the scene from heart attack.

According to Liao, 10 of the city's total 37 ambulances were summoned to the Shuangliu Airport on Thursday morning in order to provide rapid treatment for the injured, who had been flown to the city on a special plane by the order of the provincial government.

Two of the province's best hospitals, the Huaxi Hospital and the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, have undertaken the treatment of the injured tourists.

"We have conducted all of the necessary physical checkups, such as B ultrasounds, magnetic resonance and computed tomography tests for the injured within two hours,'' Liao said.

However, more of the injured might eventually resort to surgery to fully recover from the accident, because some of those suffering from chest, rib or backbone complaints are still "hesitating over whether or not they should trust Chinese doctors and have their surgery performed immediately.''

The accident took place on Wednesday afternoon, when a tourist bus with 45 passengers, 42 of whom are tourists from Singapore and Malaysia, turned over and rolled into a ditch as deep as about 3 meters. The bus belongs to the China Travel Service (Sichuan) and was on its way from the Pool of the Immortal in Jiuzhaigou to visit Maoxian County.

Lin Qiang, vice-director of the Tourist Bureau of the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, dismissed the guess that the condition of the road was partially responsible.

"We believe the road conditions were fine at the moment of the accident. The accident could possibly be blamed on the negligence on the part of the bus driver,'' he said.

The accident will have some, but not severe, negative impact on the tourism of Jiuzhaigou, according to Lin.

Luo Deyong, a senior official with the public security authority of the prefecture on Friday also confirmed to China Daily that Li Jizhong, the driver of the bus, has been detained for further interrogation.

"But the investigation is still ongoing,'' Luo said.

(China Daily November 1, 2003)