17 preschoolers killed in China school bus crash

BEIJING?? At least 17 kindergarten kids and two adults were killed Wednesday when a school bus with just nine seats but crammed with 64 people crashed on its way to class in western China, state media reported.

Authorities blamed overloading for the accident in which the bus collided head-on with a truck loaded with coal in China's Gansu province, Xinhua News Agency said.

Forty-five others, mostly children, were sent to hospital, 13 of whom were seriously injured, Xinhua said.

The 17 young victims were on their way to Little Doctor Kindergarten in Qingyang city when the accident happened at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday (8:40 p.m. ET), Xinhua said. It earlier said the kindergarten was called Yulinzi Township Kindergarten.

The bus was run by the kindergarten, Xinhua said, citing Li Yuanqing, a press official with Zhengning County government.

"We are doing all we can to reassure the parents," said a local government official, who, like many Chinese would give only his surname, Gao.

Such overcrowding on school buses is common in China, and accidents happen frequently because of poorly maintained vehicles and poor driving habits. State television aired a story in September on a minivan with eight seats that was stopped while carrying 64 preschoolers.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45318646/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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