SHANDONG - A bus crashed into a crowd in front of a junior high school in eastern China on Tuesday morning, killing 11 people and injuring 24.
According to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the crash occurred around 7am in front of the Foshan Junior High School in Dongping county, Shandong province, on the second day of the new school year.
The injured had been sent to the hospital, the report said.
Dongping police said in a statement that among the 11 deaths, six were parents and five were students. One person was severely injured while 12 remained in a stable condition. The condition of the remaining injured is not known.
The vehicle was a bus designated to drive and pick up students to and from school, the police said. As it approached a crossroad, it lost control and crashed into the crowd. The driver has been detained by police and the case is being investigated.
As the new school year began, China had called for more emphasis on campus security.
Party mouthpiece People's Daily said in a report on Sunday that measures implemented to relieve parents' concerns about children's safety include the use of school buses, anti-crash road fences and traffic police patrols.
It is not known if the accident is an intentional attack on children but there have been a few such cases this year.
In June, a man launched an attack at a school bus stop in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, killing one person and injuring two others.
In March, a man in Dezhou, Shandong province, drove into a crowd in front of a local junior school, killing two pedestrians and severely injuring six people. The 46-year-old had since been detained by local police.