All five people killed in a tour bus crash in upstate New York on Friday afternoon have been identified, authorities said on Saturday.
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The victims include a Columbia University student, three New Jersey residents and one Indian national, according to New York State Police.
They were identified as Xie Hongzhuo, a 22-year-old Columbia student originally from Beijing; Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, New Jersey; Zhang Xiaolan, 55, and Jian Mingli, 56, both from Jersey City; and Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhubani, India.
The 2005 Van Hool motor coach was travelling eastbound on the New York State Thruway, from Niagara Falls to New York, when it rolled over after hitting a median and wound up in a ditch on the side of the road.
The bus was carrying 54 people – the driver, a tour guide and 52 passengers – ranging in age from one to 74, officials said.
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The collision, which occurred just before 1pm between exits 48A and 49 in Pembroke, happened “for reasons yet to be determined”, Thomas Chapman, member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon.