Nineteen people were killed and another 16 injured when a bus ran through a pedestrian area in Shenzhen City on Tuesday night, police said yesterday.

Passersby and street traders made up the majority of the casualties.

The accident took place at around 8:30 PM on Longhua Street in Bao'an District when the driver of a kindergarten bus failed attempts to avoid another motor vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

The bus, with only one adult passenger and the driver aboard, drove about 70 meters through the pedestrian area where traders were selling snacks to people from a nearby open dancing ground and workers who had just finished their shifts, witnesses said.

The driver of the bus was detained by police and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2005)