School bus crash in China kills 11 including children, injures 13 others

A bus rammed into a crowd of parents and students standing outside a middle school in China’s Shandong province, killing 11 people including students and injuring 13 others, reported the Xinhua news agency.

According to the report the the driver "lost control" of the vehicle as it approached the school in Shandong province's Tai'an city on Sep 2 morning.

The incident comes just a day after the school reopened for the new academic year.

The accident led to the death of six parents and five students, while one of the injured is said to be in critical condition, Dongping County police said in the statement.

The bus driver has been taken into custody, and an investigation is underway as the actual cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, the police said. It's not clear whether the incident was intentional.

The images and videos of the incident are being widely shared on the internet, with some showing people trapped under the vehicle.

In a similar incident in July this year, a vehicle crashed into a group of pedestrians in the central city of Changsha, killing eight people and injuring several others. China often witnesses deadly traffic accidents despite having a robust road infrastructure.

Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death in China, with a mortality rate that remains higher than in many developed countries.