Five dead, 19 injured as car rams into kids in China
BEIJING: A car rammed into a group of children crossing a street in front of a school in northeast China yesterday, killing five children and injuring 19 others, state media said.
Police took the driver into custody and are investigating the cause of the incident in Huludao, Liaoning province, the official CCTV broadcaster said on its Weibo social media account.
Of the nineteen that were injured, sixteen were children.
Two teachers and a passerby were also hurt, said CCTV.
Unverified videos circulating on social media appeared to show a car veering onto the wrong side of the road and ploughing through the line of pupils, with the impact from the crash throwing bodies across the road.
Other footage showed at least two small children lying unconscious and bleeding on the street. Screams and cries of children could be heard in the background.
A witness quoted by Chinese media site Sina News said that he saw "children's shoes" and "traces of blood" on the ground near the accident.
Citing local police in Huludao city, the Chinese media report also said that police caught the driver after he tried to flee the scene.
Those injured are undergoing medical treatment, according to CCTV.
The incident happened around noon.
The ages of the victims were not released.
Police from Jianchang county in Huludao city did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.
Grisly car accidents are common in China, where transportation authorities have struggled to enforce safety regulations, which are often flouted or go unenforced.
According to the authorities, 58,000 people were killed in traffic accidents across the country in 2015 alone. Traffic violations were blamed for nearly 90 per cent of accidents that caused deaths or injuries that year. - AFP
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