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, according to dpa. 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. Ten of the injured were in serious condition, and 41 of them were children under 16 years old, the government's Xinhua news agency quoted emergency officials in Urumqi as saying. At least three of those who died were adults, the officials said. Other state media said up to 80 people were injured, although some reports said the bus was carrying only 63 people. Police were questioning the bus driver, who survived the crash, the 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," it 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. The reports did not say if anyone on the train was injured.
