4 Killed, Dozens Hurt in US School Bus Collision
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A school bus carrying international students collided with a tour vehicle in the US West Coast city of Seattle, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.
In addition to the four fatalities on Thursday, 51 people were injured, including 15 critically, with several needing surgery, authorities reported, AFP reported on Friday.
At least one Chinese person was among the victims, the foreign ministry in Beijing said Friday.
Local news reports said the four killed were all students.
Images of the accident on a busy bridge showed extensive damage to the left side of the bus, part of which was completely sheared off by the force of the crash.
Melissa Mixon, spokeswoman for North Seattle College, said that 45 students and staff with the school's international program were on board the bus.
She could not immediately provide information on the nationality or age of the victims.
One of the hospitals that accepted victims said four male Japanese students were treated but not seriously injured, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK.
An 18-year-old Japanese student who was on the bus told NHK that there were five to six Japanese students on board.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular briefing that China expressed "deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured."
The accident took place shortly after 11:00 am (1800 GMT) on the Aurora Bridge, a busy thoroughfare that links the city's center with northwest Seattle.
