Seoul’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday the deaths of five South Koreans in a tour bus crash in the U.S. that killed four others and injured a dozen more.
The charter bus was carrying about 40 people from Las Vegas to Vancouver, Canada, when it lost control on an icy highway and crashed around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, in a rural area of eastern Oregon.
Most of the passengers aboard the bus were reportedly Korean nationals or naturalized U.S. or Canadian citizens born in South Korea because the company caters to Korean tourists.
The stretch highway where the bus crashed is a notorious accident black spot. State transportation officials have published a specific advisory warning of its dangers.
One survivor, 25-year-old Yoo Byung-woo, told the Oregonian that he and other passengers thought the bus driver wasn’t driving as slowly as he should have been for the conditions.
“I felt like he was going too fast,” Yoo said. “I worried about the bus.”
(From news reports)
