Japan: a vehicle struck a group of children from a nursery school and left two dead and several injured

Two two-year-old children died and several were injured after being crushed by a vehicle in western Japan on Wednesday. announced the Japanese police.

Many of the wounded are "in critical condition", reported the Japanese media.

A vehicleor "stuck in a line of about 13 children from a kindergarten who walked along the sidewalk accompanied by three teachers", told AFP a spokesman for the police.

A boy and a two-year-old girl died in the accident occurred early in the morning in Otsu city, near Osaka, said the authorities.

The exact circumstances of the tragedy are unknown at the moment.

According to images broadcast on television, two or three year old esad children were on the sidewalk with their teachers, near a crosswalk, when the vehicle left the roadway and collided with them, apparently after a collision with another vehicle.

"Several people were injured"added the police spokesman.

According to the Kyodo News Agency, "Four children were unconscious", while the NHK chain talked about "critical state".

Municipal authorities of Otsu, contacted by AFP, could not provide more details.

For the moment, there was no information available on the person driving the vehicle.

Japan has seen an increase in accidents caused by elderly people in recent months. According to police statistics, motorists over 65 years old caused 965 fatalities in Japan in 2016, more than a quarter of the total, often because they confused acceleration and braking or loss of control of the vehicle.

In April, A woman and her three-year-old daughter died when an 87-year-old man collided with his bike in a Tokyo neighborhood. The driver has reported a vehicle breakdown and an investigation is underway.

(With information from AFP)