Students Killed In Bus-Truck Crash

A truck crashed into a school bus on a busy mountain road east of Beirut Friday, killing nine people and injuring about 45 others, most of them schoolchildren, police said.

Most of the victims were aged 4 to 7, police reported.

They said five of the fatalities in the accident on a treacherous stretch of the Beirut-Damascus highway at the town of Bhamdoun were pupils. The bus driver and two teachers were also killed.

A Syrian soldier was killed and another hurt when the truck, rammed a checkpoint on the highway before hitting the bus.

Authorities said the truck driver, an Indian national, lost control of the vehicle, which was carrying plastic goods.