Overloading, unauthorized route likely cause fatal kindergarten bus accident

A kindergarten bus is hauled out of a pond at the mountainous Ganzi Village in the Yuelu District of Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, July 11, 2014. [Photo: Xinhua/Bai Yu]

An initial investigation has suggested that overloading and use of an unauthorized route are the likely causes of a fatal kindergarten bus accident in central China's Hunan Province on Thursday.

Local authority says that eight kindergarten students, as well as the driver and two teachers, were killed.

Yang Neng is an official with the local Traffic Police Department:

"It was overloaded. The school bus should carry eight people at most, but there were 15 people on board including the four children who got off at previous stops."

The accident occurred in a village near the provincial capital Changsha, as the minivan was carrying children home from Lele Wang Kindergarten in the city of Xiangtan.

The driver, who reportedly began the job just a few days before, was not familiar with the route and lacked training.

The Ministry of Public Security has issued a warning, urging local authorities to check risks on school bus routes, and strengthen punishment for overloading, speeding and fatigue driving.

Authorities in Hunan are planning to overhaul the school bus system and examine the documentation of all drivers to avoid similar tragedies.