Student bus crash blamed on careless driving, bad weather

Careless driving and bad weather were probably the main causes of a bus crash in Beijing on Monday night in which 15 Hong Kong high school students were injured, police sources said yesterday.

The bus overturned on the airport expressway at about 9.30pm as it headed into the city centre after picking up 21 Hong Kong students and three staff from a flight from Shenyang .

A police spokesman from the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said the bus driver suddenly veered to the left after the vehicle was nudged by a passing car, but authorities were still investigating the incident.

'The vehicles were travelling on the expressway at more than 120km/h and the roadway was wet from rain. So the driver's response may have caused the bus to overturn,' the spokesman said.

Two students suffered spinal and chest injuries, while the remaining 13 were treated for minor sprains and cuts. None of the injured was in a critical condition. Sixteen of the students had returned to Hong Kong by last night, while five were being treated at two Beijing hospitals.

Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, deputy director of the Hong Kong office in Beijing, said yesterday two girls with serious injuries were being treated at Chaoyang Hospital.