China School Bus Kills 11 People, Including Students, in Crash Into Crowd

Eleven parents and kids were killed after a school bus crashed into a throng outside a middle school in eastern China on Tuesday, according to official media.

At 7:27 a.m. (2327 GMT Monday), the driver “lost control” of the car as it approached the school in Tai’an city, Shandong province, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV shows that the bus collided with a group of parents and kids on the side of the road.

In an update just after 11:30 am, the presenter stated, “As of now, (the incident) has caused the deaths of 11 people, of whom six were parents and five were students.”

Twelve other people’s vital signs were listed as “stable,” while one more individual was described as being in a “critical” condition.

Social media users shared images and videos of people in blood-stained garments laying in the road next to a massive grey bus.

There were kids sprawled motionless on the ground, and some grownups were kneeling over them, all the while shouting in the background.

In one video of the crash’s aftermath, a woman’s voice could be heard off-camera saying, “They’re all dead, it’s so heartbreaking.”

“If I had stayed there, I would have died too, but fortunately, I fled quickly,” she remarked.

A few of the social media images and videos may be geolocated to the Shandong school where the crash occurred by AFP.

CCTV reported that the cause of the occurrence was “under investigation” and that the driver was being detained by local authorities.

This week marked the return of many Chinese public schools to the regular academic year.

Lax safety regulations and a generalized chaotic driving culture contribute to the high frequency of fatal traffic accidents in the nation.

Eight people were killed and five were injured when a car collided with pedestrians in Changsha, central China, according to police reports from July.

It was unclear whether the occurrence was deliberate or not, but a 55-year-old local suspect was placed under arrest while an investigation was conducted.