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School bus accident kills 15 in Jiangsu

China.org.cn, December 13, 2011

• At least 15 students have been killed and eight more injured in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, after a bus carrying primary school students overturned and fell into a ditch on Monday afternoon, according to a Xinhua report.

  The deadly accident happened at around 5:40 p.m., in Shouxian township, Fengxian County, when the bus was trying to avoid a pedicab, according to local authorities.

  The bus was run by a primary school in Shouxian. The bus, which has a capacity load of 52, had 47 students on board when it left school.

  When the bus got nearby Zhanghoutun village it still had 29 students on board. The exact cause of the accident is under investigation.

  Officials from local educational, public security and health departments have rushed to the scene.

  The accident happened a day after the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council made public draft regulations on school bus safety management to solicit public opinions.

  On Nov. 16, 21 people, including 19 preschoolers and two adults, died, and 43 others were injured when a nine-seat school bus illegally carrying 64 people collided head-on with a coal truck in Gansu province.

  Several days after the accident, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on the relevant government departments to "rapidly" create safety regulations and standards for the country's school buses while further improving the design, production and distribution of the vehicles.

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