2 officials investigated after fatal kindergarten bus accident

Two officials are being probed for their roles in a kindergarten bus accident that left eight children dead in July in central China's Hunan province, according to local authorities.

Yang Qiang and Zhang Hua, suspected of dereliction of duty, are being investigated by prosecutors, a spokesman with the provincial work safety administration said late on Wednesday.

Yang is in charge of school bus management in the education bureau of Yuhu District in Xiangtan City, and Zhang works with the district's traffic police brigade, said the spokesman.

An investigation report said the bus from Lelewang Kindergarten, which fell into a reservoir on July 10, was overloaded, and the driver, who died along with the kids and two teachers, did not take the prescribed route.

Twenty-one other officials have been given punishments by administrative and Party discipline agencies for the accident.

Wang Nishang, the kindergarten's legal person, and Wang Changhai, its founder and manager, are also under investigation by local police.