Investigator finds additional lock on tour bus's exit / 火燒車26死勘驗 發現安全門有鐵栓暗鎖

Two days ago, a major tour bus accident that killed all 26 people on board left the nation in shock and disbelief. Yesterday, investigators examined another bus of the same model to understand where the fire started and why no one escaped. After the bus accident took away 26 lives on board on July 19th, prosecutors opened investigation yesterday to better understand how the bus caught fire and why everyone on board was trapped. So far, it has been confirmed that the fire started at the front half of the bus. Meanwhile, investigators discovered an additional lock installed on the bus's emergency exit. Despite the lock's capability of being easily dismantled manually, it may still have been the reason why passengers were trapped, as they may have been unaware of the existence of the lock, or were unable to unlock it in extreme emergency. Investigators are also looking into why no one attempted to break the windows with emergency hammers. ==FAN CHIH-KU, Deputy Minister, MOTC== We haven't been able to conclude our investigation yet. More time is needed. As of now, we're arranging a chartered flight for families of the victims to come to Taiwan, yet as we haven't been able to reach everyone to confirm if they would be coming on their own or taking our flight, there have been delays. An autopsy was also performed on the driver to determine if he had been driving under the influence. As for the cause of the accident and the results of the ongoing investigation, no final word has been made available so far. TRANSLATED BY：JEFF CHANG 鑑識人員仔細檢查車內、車外每個細節。國道二號在昨天發生遊覽車火燒車意外，車上26人全數罹難，檢調上午找來同樣是紅珊瑚車隊的同款車輛，擺在事故車旁比對，再一次展開勘驗，要釐清包含哪裡是起火點、以及逃生不易的原因。初步判定，起火位置在車輛前半部，因此先從同款車和事故車的駕駛座位置進行勘查，再延伸到底盤、線路等部分。 除了起火原因之外，由於這款遊覽車，有前門、後門，左後方還有安全門裝置，但為了防盜，業者加裝了帶有鐵栓的暗鎖，雖然只要把手伸進去、往上撥，暗鎖就可以打開，但一般乘客卻未必會曉得使用，這次意外，究竟是司機行前忘了先將暗鎖打開、還是乘客第一時間根本來不及打開？以及車上的玻璃擊破裝置，沒有使用的原因為何？種種疑點，都是檢調要釐清的地方。 ==交通部次長 范植谷== 勘驗的結果 到目前為止 還沒有進一步的進展 這點要先跟大家報告 可能還需要時間 目前來講的話 原則上是朝包機的方式 那可能現在有少數的幾位家屬 還沒有完全聯繫上 有一些完全 有些是還沒有確定 他們要不要搭包機 所以現在有點延誤 檢方下午也解剖遊覽車司機，要查明駕駛當時的身心狀況，是否有服用特殊藥物等，以釐清案情，家屬也隨檢警進入殯儀館內，並低調離去。至於目前事發原因，以及相關勘驗結果，都還是未知數。 記者 曹晏郡 郭俊麟 桃園報導