BEIJING (Reuters) - China has arrested the driver of a school bus that crashed in the southern island province of Hainan, killing eight students and injuring 32 others, state news agency said on Friday.

Mr Zhao Caisen was arrested on suspicion of causing the accident in Chengmai County on April 10, Xinhua said, citing a warrant issued by the prosecutor of Wenchang City.

Accidents involving school vehicles have drawn public anger in China in recent years after a series of fatal incidents. In 2011, 18 nursery school pupils were killed when their overcrowded van slammed into a coal truck in north-western China.

The incident prompted then Premier Wen Jiabao to promise more funds for school bus services, which are notoriously unsafe in China's poorer, rural areas.

In the latest accident, the driver is accused of failing to notice that the brake was defective before setting off, and then losing control of the bus while driving on an unfinished road in the rain.