Five children lost their lives this morning when a bus crashed into students waiting at the gates of a high school in Tai’an City, Shandong province, China.
The accident occurred just before 7 am local time as the children prepared to start their school day. The bus, which was supposed to transport students, veered off course and collided with the crowd, resulting in the deaths of five students and eleven parents, according to local reports.
Social media footage reveals parents holding their injured children, with some victims lying under the bus. The vehicle, a rental bus adapted for student transportation, reportedly lost control before crashing into the group.
The driver has been detained as authorities investigate the incident, as reported by China’s Xinhua news agency. Furthermore, in addition to the fatalities, at least 13 people were injured, with one remaining in critical condition.
School safety has been a persistent issue in China, with concerns over overcrowded school buses and inadequate building designs.
Past incidents include the deaths of 11 pre-school children in 2011 when their minivan plunged into a roadside pool in Guixi city, Jiangxi province, and a fire in January this year that killed 13 children at a boarding school in central Henan province.
Last year, a stabbing attack at a kindergarten in Lianjiang town, Guangdong province, resulted in the deaths of three children, two parents, and a teacher, with a 25-year-old man arrested for the crime.
