At least 12 children, driver killed after train slams into school bus in India

At least 12 children are dead after a school van and a train collided at a railway crossing in northern India.

Officials said the accident occurred early Thursday as the van was transporting 22 students, all between the ages of five and 14, to a local school in Uttar Pradesh state.

READ MORE: 23 children killed in India when school bus plunges into gorge

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Five injured students remained in critical condition, top police officer O.P. Singh said.

The bus driver, who reportedly ignored a guard’s signal to stop, was also killed in the accident.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state has ordered a probe to determine the cause of the incident.

The tragic crash is the second major accident involving school children in a just over two weeks. At least 24 children and three adults were killed when a school bus plunged off a mountain road in northern India on April 9.

— With a file from Reuters.