On December 23, a kindergarten van in Xiangshui Village, Dinshan Town, Pengze County, Jiangxi Province, fell into the water while transporting children home, resulting in the death of 8 people including the driver.
A viral video shows six children lying on the road by the pond, with a sedan being hoisted ashore nearby. Multiple netizens from Jiangxi left comments stating that “the driver was the kindergarten principal, and the accident happened while bringing children home”, noting that there were “7 children and 1 adult”, and some also mentioned “a kindergarten principal, a teacher, and 6 kindergarten children”.
On December 24, the Pengze County Public Security Bureau reported via their WeChat official account that the accident occurred around 4 p.m. on the 23rd, on a rural road in Xiangshui Village, Dinshan Town, Pengze County. The investigation revealed that Ms. Luo (female, 49 years old, from Pengze County) was driving the vehicle when it plunged into the pond at the accident site, leading to the deaths of Ms. Luo and 7 others in the vehicle.
The police report did not disclose the identities of the deceased, only stating that the accident investigation is ongoing.
A local villager informed Dahe News that the involved kindergarten is a private one, and tragically, his friend’s 4-year-old child also lost his life in this incident.
According to him, the vehicle involved is a 7-seater SUV, mainly used for transporting children. The accident site is a pond situated on a downhill road section, and he speculated that the vehicle lost control while turning due to slippery conditions on a rainy day.
Another villager living near the pond informed The Paper that prior to the accident, the kindergarten principal, Ms. Luo, was driving the sedan, transporting multiple children from east to west. When passing the pond, the vehicle plunged into the water, where the depth was estimated to be over 3 meters.
Regarding the tragic incident, the on-duty staff at the Emergency Department of Pengze County People’s Hospital confirmed that the deceased children were taken to the funeral home. However, the responsible personnel from the kindergarten involved have not been reachable as their phone calls went unanswered.