School bus crash in China kills 15 children

Fifteen children were killed when a school bus crashed in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu – the latest in a string of accidents fanning public fury across the country.

The bus rolled into an irrigation ditch as it veered off the road to avoid a pedicab, the Xinhua state news agency said. At least eight children were injured in the accident, which happened after school on Monday.

“Students became trapped at the bottom of the overturned bus and drowned as water gushed into the wreck,” Xinhua reported.

The driver has been taken into custody.

An outcry erupted across China in early November after 18 nursery school children were killed when a coal truck slammed into their overcrowded school minibus in north-west China.

Two other accidents involving students were also reported.

A bus crash in Zhumadian city in central Henan province killed two students yesterday and injured 20 people, seven seriously, Xinhua reported.

The bus had been rented by a middle school and was carrying 50 students and teachers when it rammed into a truck.

On Monday, a school bus carrying 59 children collided with a truck in Guangdong province, in China’s far south, injuring 37.

The deaths and injuries are sure to amplify calls for more spending on education and children’s safety. In 1993, the Chinese government vowed to dedicate four per cent of GDP to education.

Chinese microbloggers were quick to express their anger about the Jiangsu crash.

“Another school bus accident kills 15 children. It’s just a number in the eyes of Chinese officials.

“The only thing they care about is whether it impacts their future career,” wrote Huiji Flying on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog.