Rescuers work at the site of a road accident in Hualien, southeast China's Taiwan, Feb. 17, 2012. A total of 34 people, mostly from the Chinese mainland, were wounded in a traffic accident Friday evening in Hualien, ten of them in serious conditions, according to local media. The mainland travellers have been identified as a group involved in a Peking opera exchange and comprised of people from 18 mainland provinces, invited by a Taipei-based Chinese opera institution. (Xinhua)

Speeding was to blame for a traffic accident on Taiwan's rugged east coast Friday evening that has left 30 mainland tourists and one local tourist guide injured, local police said Saturday.

The bus was traveling at 93.5 km per hour, nearly twice the 50 km per hour limit on the highway, a spokesman with the Hualien police bureau said.

Low visibility caused by rain and the drivers' lack of knowledge of road conditions also were factors which lead to the accident, leaving at least nine passengers in serious condition, according to police.

Thirty-four people were onboard at the time of the accident, including 32 mainland tourists en route to a Peking opera exchange trip, a Taiwanese driver and a local tourist guide.

The driver and two passengers have been discharged from hospital.

Injuries sustained vary from broken pelvises to brain hemorrhages. At least two passengers were in comas, according to doctors.

Some of the hospitalized have contacted their mainland relatives and their medical bills will be covered by insurance.

The accident took place at 6:15 p.m. Friday when the bus heading northward crashed into a wall and rolled at the 43 km point of the Taitung-Hualien coastal road, police said.

The mainland travellers have been identified as a group involved in a Peking opera exchange program. They were invited by a Taipei-based Chinese opera institution.

The group arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 14, and was scheduled to leave on Feb. 20.

The driver is currently under police investigation.