15 Chinese children killed in school bus accident

BEIJING (AP) — A school bus taking primary students home slipped off a country road into an irrigation ditch in eastern China, killing 15 children and highlighting continuing safety problems in the country's school transport system after a similar tragedy last month.

Workers at a nearby factory heard cries for help and rushed to the overturned bus, broke open the windows and began pulling children out.

At least 15 children died and eight others were injured, one of them seriously, said a spokesman for the Jiangsu provincial government, who like many Chinese officials refused to give his name. The official Xinhua News Agency said today the bus was carrying 29 students and was designed for 52 people, so it was not overloaded.

The accident occurred Monday evening as the bus was traveling along a rural highway outside the city of Xuzhou in the province's north. News reports said it careened off the road after swerving to avoid a pedicab. Xinhua said the driver had been detained for investigation.