BEIJING: A bus crashed into a group of students in eastern China on Tuesday, killing or injuring at least 10, state media reported.

The students were waiting at the gate of a middle school in Tai'an city in Shandong province shortly after 7 a.m., Xinhua news agency said.

The bus was specially customised for transporting students, it said.

The cause of the accident was being investigated.

School safety, including overloaded school buses and poorly designed buildings, has long been a problem in China.