Twenty-three of the 40 Czech tourists hospitalised in Gospic after Saturday's bus crash on the Zagreb-Split motorway were released on Sunday and taken to Zadar, accompanied by medical staff and police, from where a Czech military plane will take them home for further treatment, Gospic General Hospital manager Marija Vrkljan Ilijevski said.
Five Czech patients with serious injuries are staying at the hospital, while the rest have gone to the Czech Republic, their transport organised by their insurance companies.
Czech Ambassador Karel Kuehnl accompanied the patients en route to the coastal town of Zadar.
Leaving Gospic, he said the people and Croatian institutions "have done a very good, excellent job" in such tragic circumstances, which saw eight Czech tourists killed and 43 injured. They had been travelling to Baska Voda on the Adriatic coast to spend the summer holidays.
Asked by the press if it was correct that investigators spoke to the Czech patients today, Kuehnl said they only did their job and heard the passengers.
Investigating judge Dubravka Rudelic told the media she questioned the passengers in order to establish how the crash had occurred and if someone was responsible.
In Zadar, the patients will be met by physicians and psychologists, as some lost their dearest in the accident, and all are shocked, said Kuehnl.
He said the three persons transported to Zagreb yesterday because of the gravity of their injuries were stable and recovering well.
