Preschoolers killed in S China road accident identified

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-24 13:52

NANNING: Investigators have identified the four preschoolers killed in Monday's traffic accident on a south China highway as migrant workers' children, a local government official said Tuesday.

The three boys and a girl, aged from three to five, attended Yucai Kindergarten in Tianping Township of Tengxian County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said Xie Shangao, deputy head of the county.

They were all from rural families and their parents were migrant factory workers in the neighboring Guangdong Province, Xie said.

The youngest of the victims, a three-year-old boy, was under custody of his uncle. "My brother and his wife work in Guangzhou, so the child lived with us most of the time," said Tang Hongbo.

Tang's daughter, aged 3.5, was one of the two children injured in the accident and is still being treated at Tengxian County Hospital.

The school bus hit a truck at around 8:10 am Monday on a provincial highway. The bus driver and a teacher were also killed.

Police is investigating the cause of the accident.

The accident has again aroused widespread concern over the safety of the 58 million rural children left behind by China's migrant population. At least 40 million of these children are under 14.