By DAVE LLAVANES JR.

NEW YORK – No Filipinos were among the fatalities in the tourist bus accident in Upstate New York on Friday (US time), according to police.

The New York State Police identified the five fatalities as:

• Shankar Kumar Jha, 65, of Madhu Bani, India;
• Pinki Changrani, 60, of East Brunswick, NJ;
• Xie Hongzhuo, 22, of Beijing, China, a Columbia University student in NYC;
• Zhang Xiaolan, 55, of Jersey City, NJ; and
• Jian Mingli, 56, of Jersey City, NJ.

The Van Wool Bus and Coach tourist bus, owned by M&Y Tour Inc. of Staten Island, New York, was carrying 54 passengers, including the driver and crew, when it crashed on Interstate 90 while returning to New York City from Niagara Falls.

Injured passengers were brought to four hospitals in Buffalo for treatment.

In an email, Peter Cutler, senior vice president for communication and external affairs at Erie County Medical Center, reported that 21 passengers from the tourist bus were brought to their facility. Of these, seven were discharged yesterday, six remain admitted, five are in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit, and three are under observation.

Other injured passengers were also taken to Strong Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, and UMMC in Rochester.

New York State Police Trooper James O’Callaghan said in an email to GMA Integrated News that all victims’ families had already been contacted and that the family reunification center would be closing.

“The family reunification center will be closing, as all family members have made contact with the passengers at this time,” he said.

The Philippine Consulate in New York is still verifying if any Filipinos have been admitted to these hospitals.

According to Consular Officer Rovald Valdez of the Consulate’s Assistance-to-Nationals Section, they have already coordinated with the New York State Police and the five hospitals where the victims were taken to determine if any Filipinos were among those injured in the tragic accident.

O’Callaghan earlier said among the passengers onboard were those of Indian, Chinese, and Filipino ethnicity.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said Filipinos were among the casualties, citing local police.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this incident. Respecting the privacy of the individuals, authorities have not released further information and instead relayed that they will be reaching out to the families of the victims directly,” the DFA said.

“The Consulate is actively monitoring the situation and stands ready to assist any victims who may need assistance,” it added.

In its own advisory, the Philippine Consulate also said it is “keeping in its thoughts and prayers all those impacted by the tragic bus crash on the New York State Thruway in Pembroke, New York.”

The consulate said Filipinos with relatives possibly involved in the incident may contact the its Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Section emergency hotline at (917) 294-0196.