School in China that ran overcrowded bus to close

BEIJING – Authorities in China said the kindergarten that operated a bus that crashed last week, killing 19 children, has closed and a new school will open at the same location.

The pupils’ teacher and the driver were also killed in Wednesday’s crash with a truck in northwest Gansu province. The bus was originally a nine-seat van but it was packed with more than 60 children. The other 43 children aboard were injured.

The crash occurred in a rural area overseen by Qingyang city government. It said in a statement that a new school will open at the site of the privately run Little Doctor Kindergarten. It said the new school will have a 45-seat bus donated by an oil company.

State-run Xinhua News Agency said Sunday that the kindergarten would open Monday.