Bus Crashes Into Students and Parents at Chinese School, Killing 11 and Injuring 13

People help someone who was injured when a bus crashed into students and parents outside a school in Tai'an, Shandong Province, China, Sept. 3, 2024.

A bus collided with a group of students and parents outside a middle school in Tai'an city, Shandong province, eastern China, early Tuesday, resulting in 11 deaths and 13 injuries, police reported.

The tragic incident occurred just before 7:30 a.m. as students and parents gathered at the school gate on the second day back to school after summer vacation. The Dongping County police confirmed that six parents and five students were among the deceased. Of the injured, one is in critical condition, while the others are stable.

School bus ploughs into crowd in China killing 11

The bus driver is in police custody, and an investigation is underway. The bus, specially customized for student transport, raises questions about the operator's responsibility, as many schools in China outsource transportation services to private entities.

This incident highlights ongoing concerns about school safety in China, where issues like overloaded buses and inadequate infrastructure have previously led to tragedies. In a similar incident in 2017, 11 kindergarten students and their driver died in a bus crash in Weihai, Shandong province. Despite stricter regulations and enhanced vehicle inspections, transportation-related dangers persist in the country.