Third passenger dies following east Ontario bus crash

PRESCOTT, Ont. – Ontario Provincial Police say a third passenger injured in a bus crash in eastern Ontario on Monday has died.

The passenger was identified late Thursday as 60-year-old Chinese woman Weiping Lu.

Police also said two other people who were injured in the crash remain in hospital with life-threatening injuries, but their conditions have improved and they are now in stable condition.

The two other Chinese tourists who died from injuries suffered in the crash had earlier been identified as 57-year-old woman Xueying Ye of Shanghai, and a male passenger, Changlin Xu of Jiansu, China.

A tour bus carrying 37 people, including the driver, a guide and 35 Chinese tourists had crashed into a rock formation by the side of Highway 401 near Prescott, Ont.

OPP Const. Suzanne Runciman said earlier Thursday that the cause of the crash is still unknown and that an investigation is still ongoing.

“Those types of crashes take a long time to investigate,” Runciman said.

It could be months before the findings of the investigations are made public, she added.

Officials at the Chinese embassy in Canada have “made clear that the travel agency involved should shoulder its responsibility and properly take care of such matters as medical treatment and compensation for the Chinese tourists,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference Tuesday.

“The Foreign Ministry and our diplomatic missions in Canada will continue to follow the development of the accident and work with relevant departments to make proper followup arrangements,” Chunying added.

A manager at the Massachusetts-based Union Tour Express company said Monday he was aware one of their buses was involved in the collision, but could not provide any further information about the incident.

The bus company could not immediately be reached Thursday morning.