7 die as tour bus flips near Hoover Dam

A tour bus overturned on a highway near Hoover Dam on Friday, killing seven Chinese nationals and injuring at least 15 others, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

Six fatalities were confirmed at the scene, about 190 miles northwest of Phoenix; a seventh person died at a Las Vegas hospital, said police Cmdr. Dean Nyhart.

Nyhart said the bus was traveling north on U.S. 93 when it veered left and then right across the median. It rolled at least once before stopping.

He said he believed all but one of the victims killed at the scene had been ejected from the bus. Nyhart said five people had suffered life-threatening injuries.

“We’re hopeful that those people can be stabilized,” he said.

Nyhart said the tourists on the bus were Chinese nationals who had flown from Shanghai to San Francisco.

The group left Las Vegas early Friday for a trip to the Grand Canyon and was returning when the crash occurred around 4 p.m. Several people rushed to the scene from a nearby diner.

Sheila Larsen, who works at Rosie’s Den, said she went outside after hearing a loud crash. “The woman I was trying to comfort didn’t speak English. I was trying to comfort her and she died,” Larsen said.

According to police, the bus belonged to D.W. Tours of San Gabriel, Calif. A message on the company’s phone line said the mailbox was full and that no messages could be left.

Six people were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where one died. Hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said two remained hospitalized in critical condition: the 61-year-old male bus driver and a woman whose age was unknown. The others were a 35-year-old woman, a 48-year-old man and an 8-year-old boy, all in serious condition.