A bus carrying tourists from the Chinese mainland fell from a mountain road into a deep valley in central Taiwan on Monday, killing six and injuring 15 others, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The accident took place at about 7:50 PM on Monday when the tourists were returning from visiting Mount Ali, according to Taiwan media.

The victims included five visitors from Dalian, a city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, and a local guide. The dead were Wang Lixian and Wang Shaofei, employees of Dalian Detai Shareholding Co. Ltd, Zhao Shifeng of the Tap Water Company of Dalian Development Zone, and Li Huimei and Liu Hong, staff of Dalian Dianci Co. Ltd.

The injured are being treated in hospital.

The tourists were insured with a travel agency in Taiwan and the bus was legally insured too, said the Taiwan Association of Travel Agents (TWATA).

The families of the dead would each receive a payment of 3.5 million New Taiwan dollars (875,000 yuan) and the injured would get 230,000 New Taiwan dollars (57,500 yuan) from the TWATA, it said.

The 40-member tourist group was taking two buses to Taichung from Mount Ali. There were 18 tourists, one mainland guide, one local guide and a driver on the bus that crashed.

The accident was caused by brake failure, according to the bus driver.

The Taiwan affairs office said Monday night that the mainland-based cross-strait tourism exchange association is preparing for the trip of the victims' family members to Taiwan.

The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits is keeping contact with Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation and other organizations to facilitate the trip of the victims' family members, the office said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 3, 2006)