Bus runs into crowd outside school in China, killing 11 people

A school bus has crashed into students and parents outside a middle school in eastern China, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than a dozen others, according to local officials. The driver was taken into custody.

The incident happened just before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday when a bus owned by a private company and rented to pick up students ran into people at the gate of a middle school in Tai’an City, in eastern Shandong province.

The Public Security Bureau in Dongping County said the bus had “lost control” when it reached a T-junction outside the school, causing it to run into 24 people who were standing on the side of the road.

“So far, a total of 11 people have died, including 6 parents and 5 students, 1 person is in critical condition, and 12 people have stable vital signs,” the bureau said in a brief statement on Weibo.

The driver was taken into custody and the cause of the incident is being investigated, the bureau said. Other details about the circumstances of Tuesday’s deadly crash were not immediately released.

The bus involved in the crash was owned by a private company but specially customized to transport students. Many schools in China contract such services to private companies or individuals, according to AP.