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13 Koreans hurt in deadly Seattle bus crash, one in critical condition

September 25, 2015

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal collision involving a charter bus, center left, and a “Ride the Ducks” amphibious tour bus on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP)

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

A fatal crash on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge between a school charter bus and a tour vehicle Thursday killed four students and injured dozens more, with 11 in critical condition as of Friday, including one Korean.

It was initially reported that Koreans were only on the charter bus and all seven students escaped without serious injury. But it was later found that there were six Koreans on the tour vehicle also, according to the Seattle Consulate General. One Korean female student in her 20s who had enrolled at North Seattle College is reported to be in critical condition with a head injury.

According to Seattle police, a “Ride the Ducks” tour vehicle collided into an SUV around 11:13 a.m. on the bridge before crashing into an oncoming charter bus carrying international students and staff from North Seattle College.

Four charter bus passengers died at the scene. North Seattle College identified them Friday as Claudia Derschmidt, a 49-year-old Austrian woman; Privaudo Putradauto, an 18-year-old Indonesian man; Mami Sato, a 37-year-old Japanese woman; and a 17-year-old Chinese girl whose name has been withheld due to her age.

They were on their way to college orientation before the start of fall semester on Sept. 28.

“No words are adequate to express the absolute pain and sorrow we all feel as a result of receiving this devastating news,” North Seattle College said in a statement.

About 900 international students from Asia currently attend the college.