TAIPEI -- Six people, including a local driver and five mainland tourists, were injured in a bus accident in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan Wednesday morning.

The bus was carrying 18 tourists from the Chinese mainland when it hit a pedestrian island at about 10 am on the way from Kaohsiung to Kenting, a popular coastal tourist resort in southern Taiwan.

The six people were slightly injured and have been discharged from the hospital, according to local police.

The driver, 50, said the accident was caused by him being disturbed by the dazzling sunlight. Police are investigating whether he was driving while fatigued.