OKAYAMA (Kyodo) Twenty elementary school pupils and a man were injured Monday morning when a truck-mounted crane struck a school bus carrying 51 children, causing the bus to crash into an office building in Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, police and fire officials said.
The pupils and a 43-year-old businessman who was working in the building were taken to hospitals with abrasions and other minor injuries, while other passengers reported feeling sick, the officials said.
The crane truck was entering a road when the arm of the crane struck the bus at around 7:45 a.m., causing the bus to knock over a utility pole before crashing into an automobile sales and repair firm.
The police are questioning the 57-year-old driver of the crane truck and the 62-year-old bus driver on suspicion that negligence was involved in the accident.
The damage to the utility pole triggered a power outage affecting about 250 households in the area.
