Seventeen children killed in minibus crash

At least 17 kindergarten children and two adults were killed today when a school minibus with just nine seats but crammed with 64 people crashed on its way to class in western China, state media reported.

Authorities blamed overloading for the accident in which the bus collided head-on with a truck loaded with coal in China’s Gansu province, Xinhua News Agency said.

Forty-five others, mostly children, were taken to hospital, 13 of whom were seriously injured, Xinhua said.

The 17 young victims were on their way to Little Doctor Kindergarten in Qingyang city when the accident happened at 9.40am (1.40 Irish time), Xinhua said.

The bus was run by the kindergarten, Xinhua said, citing Li Yuanqing, a press official with Zhengning County government.

“We are doing all we can to reassure the parents,” said a local government official, who, like many Chinese would give only his surname, Gao.

Such overcrowding on school buses is common in China, and accidents happen frequently because of poorly maintained vehicles and poor driving habits.

State television aired a story in September about a minivan with eight seats that was stopped while carrying 64 pre-school children.