Two tourists were hurt when a brawl broke out between irate passengers and a group led by a bus driver in
Beijing on Tuesday.
The scrap started at
Beijing Western Railway Station as the tourists, all from Chongqing, were waiting for a bus to take them to the airport.
One of them suffered a serious head wound but is now in a stable condition after immediate treatment.
He is still under observation in the station's hospital. The other was only slightly hurt. The 45 tourists became angry waiting for the airport shuttle bus, which was about half an hour late.
Some of them refused to get on it when it did arrive and insisted on being paid compensation, said Wan, a manager with the Capital Travel Service, an organization affiliated with the China International Travel Service.
For an unknown reason, five of them then started arguing with the driver of a mini-bus parked in the same plaza.
The driver disappeared and came back with six other men, who carried wooden blocks and anything else they could find in the back of the mini-bus.
Scuffles broke out in the plaza, which is always crowded, and the situation became quite nasty.
It was a bloody fight and the railway station plaza, which always contains thousands of travellers, became a mess.
One tourist was then thumped on the head with a wooden block. "We have to buy travel insurance for all members of the group," said Wan. "But this case, which was triggered by some personal argument, will not be covered."
All the tourists missed the plane because of the incident and are now staying at a three-star hotel in Beijing.
Nine of them accepted the arrangement made by the travel service agency and left
Beijing for home yesterday afternoon. The rest are still trying to get compensation from the travel agency.
The hospitalized man was visited by a relative from Chongqing.
There have been a few crimes committed in
Beijing recently but local police are not sounding any notes of warning.
Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau issues weekly crime tips to residents and reminds them to be on the alert.
