China closes kindergarten after fatal van crash

A privately-run kindergarten in east China was ordered to close on Tuesday, a day after the school's van plunged into a roadside pond killing eleven children.

The Chunlei Kindergarten operated without a license and repeatedly against the government's warnings to overhaul itself, said local officials.

They have ordered a province-wide safety overhaul of school transport in Jiangxi.

The school had nine teachers and 95 students, according to official records.

"The school has now been ordered to close and its principal Zhou Chun'e -- the driver of the van -- has been detained," said officials of Guixi City where the crash occurred.

The seven-seater van of the school, carrying 15 children and two adults, was speeding on a rural road undergoing repairs and plunged into a three-meter deep pond early Monday morning, an initial investigation showed.

Three children were killed on the spot, while eight others died in hospital after treatment failed.

The police investigation said the van was overloaded and the driver "drove improperly", which led to the accident.

Local officials disclosed a list of casualties.

A Xinhua investigation found that most of the casualties, aged four to six, lived with their grandparents as their parents had migrated to cities for work, a situation typical across China's countryside.

Tong Fuliang, who was working in a factory in neighboring Zhejiang Province at the time of the accident, said he became frantic when he learned that his four-year-old son was involved in the accident.

"My legs shook so uncontrollably that I almost fell," said Tong Fuliang, adding that he and his wife rushed "like mad men" to the hospital where his son was being treated.

Their son, Tong Yongjie, was among the four survivors, but Tong Fuliang could not help break down in tears in the hospital ward.

"I want to take him with me to Zhejiang. Though life might be hard out there, it helps me feel calm with the family around," Tong Fuliang told Xinhua.

Tong Boliang, 59, was relieved because his grandson boarded a different van that day. (The two Tongs are not related.)

"If he was a bit late and took the second van, I might have missed him forever." said Tong Boliang.

He said his grandson is already in elementary school but, like many others who live in the area, the family pays 200 yuan (32 U.S. dollars) a semester to use the Chunlei Kindergarten van to commute to school.

Photos of mud-stained children's clothes, shoes and school bags scattered on the bank of the pond have created a sensation online, with the public demanding that transportation safety be ensured for rural students.

Last year, 19 preschoolers and two adults died after the school bus they boarded -- a nine-seat van carrying 64 passengers -- collided head-on with a coal truck in northwest Gansu Province.

The accident gained national attention, prompting authorities to order a school transportation overhaul, especially in rural areas where safety rules are not usually well-enforced.

In August, the Ministry of Education issued a circular urging local governments to establish a school bus safety management system, set a reasonable transition period and make detailed provisions in terms of school bus permissions, school bus drivers' qualifications and legal responsibilities.

The focus of the management work should be put on rural areas where schooling is beyond the reach of public transport and nearby schooling is not feasible, the circular noted.