China says principal drove school van that plunged into pond, killing 11
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Local residents wait as rescuers search for missing children at the bank of a pond in Guixi, east China's Jiangxi province on Dec 24, 2012. Eleven young children between four and six years old died when the overloaded van they were travelling in plunged into this pond. Xinhua news agency said the principal was driving the van at the time of the accident. -- PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING (AP) - Chinese state media say the principal of a kindergarten was driving a school van that plunged into a pond in eastern China, killing 11 children.
Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday that police found that the van was overloaded and the driver "drove improperly." She has been detained.
An initial investigation found that the seven-seater van - carrying 15 children and two adults - was speeding on a rural road that was undergoing repairs and ended up in a 3m deep pond on Monday morning.
Three children died at the scene, while eight others died later in hospital.
