A school bus plowed into a crowd outside a middle school in eastern China’s Shandong province on Tuesday, resulting in the tragic deaths of 11 parents and students, state media reported.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, the accident occurred in Tai’an city at 7:27 a.m. local time (11:27 p.m. GMT Monday) when the bus driver reportedly “lost control” of the vehicle as it approached the school. The bus careened into a group of parents and children standing by the roadside.
In an update released just after 11:30 a.m., CCTV confirmed the fatalities, identifying the deceased as six parents and five students. The broadcaster also reported that one person remains in “critical” condition, while the vital signs of another 12 individuals are “stable.”
Graphic photos and videos circulating on social media show scenes of devastation, with blood-soaked clothes scattered on the ground near the large grey bus. Several adults are seen kneeling over children lying motionless, as distressed voices and screams echo in the background.
“They’re all dead, it’s so heartbreaking,” a woman is heard saying in one video clip from the crash site. “I’d have been killed too if I’d stood there, but luckily I ran away fast,” she added.
AFP was able to geolocate several of these images to the school in Shandong where the incident occurred.
The bus driver has been detained by local police, and an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, CCTV reported.
This tragedy comes as many public schools across China reopened for the new academic year this week. Deadly traffic accidents are not uncommon in the country, often attributed to lax safety standards and chaotic driving practices.
Just last July, a similar incident in the central city of Changsha saw a vehicle crash into pedestrians, killing eight and injuring five. A 55-year-old local resident was detained in connection with that incident, though it remains unclear whether the act was intentional.
