国内英语新闻:Ministry urges school safety after fatal van crash

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Education on Tuesday issued a circular urging school safety after a fatal school van crash in east China's Jiangxi Province that killed 11 kindergarten students on Monday.

The ministry called on education departments at all levels to make students' safety a priority and take measures to avoid accidents.

According to the local authority, the school van carrying 15 kindergartners and one teacher plunged into a roadside pond around 9 a.m. in a rural area of Guixi City, which is located in the city of Yingtan.

Three children died instantly. Another eight died at a local hospital after efforts to save them failed.

Four other children were injured and are in stable condition, the local authority said.

The authority also disclosed a list of casualties.

The latest investigation results show that the children, aged 4 to 6, were students of a privately-run kindergarten. The school's principal, 35-year-old Zhou Chun'e, was driving the van.

Police said Zhou overloaded the vehicle, which had a designed seating capacity of seven, and "drove improperly," causing the accident.

According to the ministry circular, recent school attacks and accidents which have caused students' injuries and deaths have shocked people.

On Dec. 14, 23 school children and a villager were injured in a knife attack in central China's Henan Province.

On Dec. 19, a female junior high school student in northwest China's Shaanxi Province was kidnapped outside a campus and raped by different men.

The ministry called for more cooperation with relevant organs, such as the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport, to scrutinize roads and forbid disqualified vehicles to carry students.

The ministry stressed the need to increase the number of guards at schools and that they should be better trained.

Also, schools should stop burning coals for heat in order to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning and children should be kept away from iced lakes.

Safety training for students should be carried out in accordance with local conditions, especially during the Spring Festival holiday when people like to skate and light fireworks, the ministry said.