Sixty-two children and two adults were travelling in the bus, which had just nine seats, officials said. The driver and a teacher died along with the children, aged 5 and 6, said the director of the provincial work safety emergency office, surnamed Fan.
News of the crash ignited public anger across China, with thousands of people venting on Twitter-like microblogs, highlighting an underfunded education system that especially shortchanges students in remote areas.
“This accident says a lot about the problems with the government’s role of monitoring school safety,” said Liu Shanying, expert in public administration.
Published 16 November 2011, 06:39 IST