N Korea bus crash leaves 32 Chinese tourists dead

FE Team | Published: April 24, 2018 00:45:59

BEIJING, Apr 23 (Agencies): A tour bus has crashed in North Korea, killing 36 people including 32 Chinese nationals, Chinese officials say.
The crash, which also killed four North Koreans, happened in North Hwanghae province on Sunday night.
Chinese state media footage showed the blue tour bus completely flipped over, with part of its body broken.
Experts estimate that Chinese tourists make up 80 per cent of foreign tourists to North Korea - providing an important source of currency for Pyongyang.
China is also the secretive regime's main political ally and largest trading partner.
At least 32 Chinese nationals and four North Koreans were killed in a bus crash in North Korea, China's foreign ministry said on Monday.
"We are investigating the cause" of the accident which occurred on Sunday, ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing. Earlier, Chinese state broadcaster CGTN tweeted that more than 30 Chinese nationals had been killed after the bus plunged off a bridge - however, the post was later deleted.
There are no official tourist numbers for North Korea, but it is estimated that about 100,000 foreigners visit the country each year.