School Bus Crash in Eastern China Claims 11 Lives

News Desk
China: A tragic incident occurred on Tuesday in eastern China, where a school bus crashed into a crowd outside a middle school, resulting in the deaths of 11 people, including both parents and students, according to state media. The accident happened in Tai’an city, Shandong province, at 7:27 am (2327 GMT Monday) when the bus driver reportedly “lost control” of the vehicle as it approached the school, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The bus struck a group of parents and children standing by the side of the road. CCTV later updated that six of the deceased were parents and five were students. Additionally, one person was reported to be in “critical” condition, while 12 others were in “stable” condition.
Images and videos circulating on social media depicted the chaotic aftermath, showing people in blood-stained clothes lying on the road near the large gray bus. In one video, several adults were seen kneeling over unresponsive children, with background sounds of people screaming.
A woman’s voice could be heard off-camera saying, “They’re all dead, it’s so heartbreaking,” and she added that she had narrowly escaped the tragedy by running away just in time.
AFP was able to confirm the location of several of these images and videos as being at the school in Shandong where the crash occurred. The bus driver has been detained by local police, and an investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.
This tragic event comes as many public schools in China resumed classes for the new academic year this week. Unfortunately, fatal traffic accidents are not uncommon in the country due to poor safety standards and prevalent reckless driving.
In a similar incident in July, a vehicle struck pedestrians in Changsha, killing eight people and injuring five. A 55-year-old local suspect was detained, although it remains unclear whether that incident was accidental or intentional