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| The burning bus in which 10 Korean kindergarten students died. / Yonhap |
By Lee Han-soo
Ten Korean kindergarten students were among 12 people killed in a bus blaze in a tunnel in Weihai, China, Tuesday, according to the South Korean Embassy in China.
There were 13 people in the vehicle, owned by an international school, when it caught fire in the tunnel, according to reports. The school, "Zhongshi Korean International School," largely caters for Koreans but has not been certified by the Korean government. A Chinese preschooler and the bus driver were also killed. A Chinese teacher is reportedly in a critical condition.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown.
South Korea's acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn expressed "grave sadness" over the deaths and directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to closely cooperate with the Chinese government to determine the accident's cause.
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| Smoke billows from the tunnel in Weihai, China, where the deadly accident happened. / Screen capture from Weibo |
Hwang has also directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yun Byung-se, to mobilize all diplomatic resources and quickly inform the victims' families.
The South Korean Embassy in China has formed a special taskforce of eight people, including the consul general, who are trying find out the accident's cause.
They plan to support the bereaved and have asked Weihai city for cooperation.
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