The families of each of the 15 students killed in Monday's school bus crash will be compensated over 500,000 yuan (78,388 U.S. dollars), local authorities promised.

The bus accident claimed 15 young lives in Jiangsu Province on Monday.

The county government has decided to provide 502,000 yuan for each victim, said Zhang Bin, deputy county magistrate with the Fengxian county, on Thursday.

While the bus driver took full responsibility for the crash, he could not afford to pay such a huge amount himself. So authorities have decided to pay the compensation from government funds, based on related laws and regulations, Zhang said.

As of Thursday evening, seven of the eight students hospitalized after the crash are recovering in stable conditions. The eighth has recovered consciousness.

The accident occurred at 5:50 p.m. on Monday in Fengxian county, Jiangsu Province. An earlier report said at least 41 students were on board the school bus which took them home when it veered into a roadside ditch after the driver tried to avoid colliding with a pedicab.

Students became trapped at the bottom of the overturned vehicle and drowned as water gushed into the wreck.

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