School bus death toll rises to 21
By Wang Qingchu |
November 18, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The death toll in Wednesday's school bus tragedy in northwest China's Gansu Province rose to 21 yesterday following the death of a five-year-old boy.
Four officials have been suspended following the accident which has claimed the lives of 19 kindergarten pupils and put 43 children in hospital. The bus driver and a teacher also died.
Two deputy chiefs of Zhengning County have been suspended and the director of the education bureau and the head of the traffic police relieved of their duties after lax supervision by authorities was blamed for the overloaded kindergarten bus, the publicity department of Qingyang City, which oversees Zhengning, said.
The minibus was licensed to carry nine passengers but 62 children were crammed inside when it collided head-on with a truck as it was taking the children to their kindergarten.
An investigation found the bus had been on the wrong side of the road in heavy fog and exceeding the speed limit when the accident happened.
The bus had been illegally refitted by the kindergarten with all the seats removed except for the driver's seat. Some children stood in the bus while others sat on stools they brought themselves.
Police detained the truck driver, Fan Jungang, on suspicion of causing a traffic accident and Li Jungang, head of the Xiaoboshi (Little Doctor) Kindergarten, on suspicion of causing a serious accident due to negligence, the Qingyang City government said on its website.
At Qingyang No. 1 People's Hospital, one of the two hospitals where the dozens of injured children were being treated, relatives said they knew the bus was overcrowded.
Worried parents
"Parents were worried about their children every time they sent them in the school bus," one man, surnamed Zhou, told The Associated Press.
He is the uncle of five-year-old Wu Cheng, who had been sitting at the back of the bus when it slammed into the truck. He was recovering from head and foot injuries, and his nose was bleeding intermittently.
His parents, like many of those of the young crash victims, are migrant workers. They were working in Shanghai when they heard of the crash on the news. They were on their way to the hospital last night, AP said.
Wu is in a room on the intensive care floor with three other boys who also sustained head wounds. They were out of danger and being watched over by relatives, a nurse said.
The minibus was found to be overloaded in safety checks just three days before the accident, Lu Huadong, director of Qingyang Education Bureau, told China News Service.
The private kindergarten was told to stop the illegal and dangerous practice, but ignored the order, the report said.
Lu said some privately-run kindergartens often ignored safety rules to overload buses in order to reduce costs.
The Ministry of Education called for an urgent nationwide inspection of all school buses. The inspection should also cover vans rented by parents, the ministry said, adding that education authorities should seek support from the government to ensure the provision of safe transport where schools were unable to afford a bus.
Four officials have been suspended following the accident which has claimed the lives of 19 kindergarten pupils and put 43 children in hospital. The bus driver and a teacher also died.
Two deputy chiefs of Zhengning County have been suspended and the director of the education bureau and the head of the traffic police relieved of their duties after lax supervision by authorities was blamed for the overloaded kindergarten bus, the publicity department of Qingyang City, which oversees Zhengning, said.
The minibus was licensed to carry nine passengers but 62 children were crammed inside when it collided head-on with a truck as it was taking the children to their kindergarten.
An investigation found the bus had been on the wrong side of the road in heavy fog and exceeding the speed limit when the accident happened.
The bus had been illegally refitted by the kindergarten with all the seats removed except for the driver's seat. Some children stood in the bus while others sat on stools they brought themselves.
Police detained the truck driver, Fan Jungang, on suspicion of causing a traffic accident and Li Jungang, head of the Xiaoboshi (Little Doctor) Kindergarten, on suspicion of causing a serious accident due to negligence, the Qingyang City government said on its website.
At Qingyang No. 1 People's Hospital, one of the two hospitals where the dozens of injured children were being treated, relatives said they knew the bus was overcrowded.
Worried parents
"Parents were worried about their children every time they sent them in the school bus," one man, surnamed Zhou, told The Associated Press.
He is the uncle of five-year-old Wu Cheng, who had been sitting at the back of the bus when it slammed into the truck. He was recovering from head and foot injuries, and his nose was bleeding intermittently.
His parents, like many of those of the young crash victims, are migrant workers. They were working in Shanghai when they heard of the crash on the news. They were on their way to the hospital last night, AP said.
Wu is in a room on the intensive care floor with three other boys who also sustained head wounds. They were out of danger and being watched over by relatives, a nurse said.
The minibus was found to be overloaded in safety checks just three days before the accident, Lu Huadong, director of Qingyang Education Bureau, told China News Service.
The private kindergarten was told to stop the illegal and dangerous practice, but ignored the order, the report said.
Lu said some privately-run kindergartens often ignored safety rules to overload buses in order to reduce costs.
The Ministry of Education called for an urgent nationwide inspection of all school buses. The inspection should also cover vans rented by parents, the ministry said, adding that education authorities should seek support from the government to ensure the provision of safe transport where schools were unable to afford a bus.
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