Firefighters in the city of Guiping, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, salvage a passenger van that has lost control when overloaded with school children and plunged into a roadside lake on May 22, 2015. The accident has left two chidlren dead and 21 others injured--four of whom are in critical condition. (Photo/Chinanews.com)
A crash this past week involving a bus carrying kindergarten students in southern China is re-igniting debate about school bus safety in China's rural areas.
The accident happened in the city of Guiping in Guangxi.
A passenger van, only designed to carry 11, lost control and slammed into a roadside lake, leaving two children dead and 21 others injured.
Four of the children remain in intensive care.
17 others remain under observation.
Liu Hang, director of Emergency Care at Guiping People's Hospital, says the children under observation are expected to pull through.
"We have no idea how much water is left inside their bodies, so they need stay here for three to five more days. They will be discharged only after we make sure they have recovered. We don't want to see them leave and then run into problems at home. As such, we will continue to treat them."
The minibus was carrying 24 children and a teacher when the accident took place, which is more than double the maximum occupancy of the bus.
Liu Yejun is a parent in the school system in the city of Guiping.
"We usually don't count how many students on board, though its roughly a dozen students. The van is overcrowded virtually every time."
Many schools in China's rural areas contract a private vehicle to take students too and from school, as a legitimate school bus is often far too expensive.
A certified school bus in China can cost between 100-thousand to 500-thousand yuan.
Additional costs such as insurance, fuel, maintenance and a driver can reach up to 50-thousand yuan annually, which is well beyond the means of many schools in rural China.
More government subsidies are being demanded to help rural schools afford proper school buses.
The crash in Guiping is the latest of accidents involving unregistered school buses in China overloaded with young children, sometimes causing fatal tragedies.
