Akhir 19, 1432 H/March 24, 2011, SPA -- At least 10 people died and dozens were injured after a train hit a runaway bus carrying students to school in western China early Thursday, as dpa reported. The out-of-control public bus ran onto a railway track in Urumqi city and was hit by a passenger train, state media reported. The death toll had risen to 10 by midday, with about 50 people injured, China Radio International said. Other state media said up to 80 people were injured, although some reports said the bus was carrying only 63 people. Many passengers on the bus were schoolchildren, the reports said. Police were questioning the bus driver, who survived the crash, the official Xinhua news agency said. "There was a full load of passengers on the bus and many began to jump out of the windows before the train hit the bus," the agency quoted a witness as saying. "It was a total mess at the scene, and some nearby residents joined in the rescue and some injured passengers were rushed to hospital by passers-by," said the witness, who was identified as a local shopkeeper with the surname Xiao. It was not immediately clear if anyone on the train was injured.
