The vice director of a north China police bureau has been sacked for last week's tragic school bus accident that killed eight pupils, said local authorities.

Li Xinsong, who was also head of the Shuangcheng City traffic police, in Heilongjiang Province, has been accused of negligence for allegedly ignoring public complaints about illegal operations of buses.

Another seven police officers were punished with dismissal, demerits or warnings for negligence.

Police earlier arrested bus driver Guan Jingquan, who was accused of overloading, speeding and driving without a school bus license.

Thirty-nine others were injured when the bus carrying 50 students veered off a bridge and plunged into a frozen river on Tuesday in Zhoujia township of Shuangcheng, 50 kilometers from the provincial capital Harbin.

Doctors with the No. 242 Hospital where the injured are receiving treatment said they are all in stable condition. The survivors have received psychological counseling.

Harbin has begun inspections of school buses. Owners of illegal buses face fines up to 100,000 yuan (US$ 12,500).

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)