One Taiwanese tourist was killed on Tuesday morning in a traffic accident that occurred in the northern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, said the Taiwan affairs office under the autonomous regional government.

The accident took place at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday on a highway near Damxung County, when a medium-sized passenger bus carrying a tourist group of 17 from Taiwan suddenly developed a brake disorder and hit onto a mountain slope.

The victim was Chen Huiling, a female, who was crushed to death by the bus after she jumped out of the bus window.

Two other tourists from the group were slightly injured. All the survivors have returned to Lhasa.

The Taiwanese tourist group entered Tibet from Nepal on July 26. Local traffic police is investigating the exact cause of the accident. Families of the dead are expected to arrive in Tibet on Thursday, said local government sources.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2005)