BEIJING: A school minibus with 62 kindergarten children crammed inside crashed head-on with a truck yesterday, killing at least 18 of them, officials said.
The children, aged five to six years old, had been squeezed into the bus, which had only nine seats.
Two adults - the bus driver and a teacher - were also killed in the accident in western Gansu province.
The impact of the collision pushed the front of the minibus back into the seats, ripped open the top and buckled the sides, leaving the orange vehicle a crumpled and twisted wreck.
The truck, which officials said was used to transport coal or stones, was slightly damaged.
News of the crash ignited public anger across China, highlighting an underfunded education system that especially shortchanges students in remote areas.
"This accident says a lot about the problems with the government's role of monitoring school safety," said Mr Liu Shanying, an expert in public administration at the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "It involves the education, traffic safety and work safety authorities. They should all be blamed for this. They should all be held responsible."
The bus was on its way to the Little Doctor Kindergarten on the outskirts of Qingyang city when the accident happened.
"The minibus was driving on the wrong side of the street. Both the truck and the bus were going at high speeds at the time," said Mr Gao Shaobo, head of traffic police in Zhengning county, where the kindergarten is located.
Police detained the truck driver, who was not injured.
Overcrowding on school buses is common in China, and accidents happen frequently because of poorly maintained vehicles and poor driving habits.
(Taken from The Straits Times, Thursday, November 17 2011, Page A3)
i heard this news.
the servants or officials in China are always superior that others and have the privilege !