7 people are dead after the pickup and tour van Collide near Yellowstone National Park according to the police; 5 were Chinese citizens

Island Park, Idaho – Seven people were killed in a fiery crash between a van and a pickup on an Eastern Idaho Highway near the Yellowstone national park.

The Mercedes passenger car, which worked as a travel vehicle and wore 14 people, collided with the Dodge Ram Pickup with a person around 7:15 p.m. on Thursday on the US Highway 20 near Henry's Lake, said the Idaho State Police. The van drove east towards Yellowstone National Park, while the truck drove west, the police said.

Six people in the van – all foreign nationals – and the pickup driver died in the crash, the police said.

The passengers of the van included 12 people of Chinese nationality and one of the Italian nationals, the Idaho State Police announced on Saturday. The group traveled to Yellowstone National Park in a excursion organized by CTOUR Holiday LLC, a large recording tour operator who offers international travel services.

The pickup driver was identified by the Coroner Office of the Fremont County as a 25-year-old Isaih Moreno from Humble, Texas.

The names of the victims in the van are published by the forensic doctor as soon as their families are notified, the police said.

“Due to the complexity of the incident, the identification of all people involved and the notification of their next relatives will take some time”

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco said five of the deceased were Chinese citizens.

“The Consulate General has immediately activated its emergency mechanism to consularly protect and support the injured and the families of the victims,” ​​says a consulate explanation.

The Idaho State Police said that the deceased was brought to the autopsy and formal confirmation of identity in the Coroner's office of the Ada County.

“ISP soldiers continue to work closely with Cour Holiday LLC and stay in contact with the consulates of China and Italy in the course of the investigation,” said the state police.

Roger Merrill, the resident resident, said he drove home when he came to the crash site just a few minutes after the accident.

“It was as if you might have had a head-to-catastrophic damage to both vehicles,” Merrill told ABC News.

“Good Samariters had already come out to help. There were several other pickup trucks next to the street,” he said.

“The fire did not start immediately – after my arrival there was probably no fire for 10 to 15 minutes. And I watched what seemed to be from the collection of steam,” he said. “At that time, the first aider appeared, a member of the sheriff department. I could see that they tried to remove the fire with a fire extinguisher under the truck, but the flames spread quickly and quickly devoured and devoured quickly.”

All occupants involved in the accident were brought to hospitals, including three flown by flight car. The others were transported with a soil hospital with probably not life -threatening injuries, the police said.

Two survivors were admitted to the hospital in a stable state in the Madison Memorial. According to a hospital officer, three more who suffered injuries. Two patients were also taken to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, according to the hospital.

The cause remains investigated, the police said.

Henry's Lake is about 17 miles from West Yellowstone, Montana, a goal to Yellowstone National Park.

The US Highway 20 closed almost seven hours after the crash and has been open again since then, the police said.

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco gave an explanation of writing:

“On the evening of May 1st, a tragic traffic accident occurred near the Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, the United States of America.
Preliminary reports indicate that five Chinese citizens were killed and eight others were injured. The cause of the accident is still being examined.
The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco expresses his deep condolence to the deceased and the bereaved.
The Consulate General activated its emergency mechanism immediately in order to offer the injured and the families of the victims of consular protection and support.
It has contacted the responsible US departments and asked them to determine the cause of the accident as soon as possible and to keep the Chinese side up to date, not to save any efforts to rescue the injured and support the survivors to cope with the consequences.
We will continue to do our best in terms of follow-up problems. “

Jeffrey Cook from ABC News and Alyssa Pone contributed to this report.