17 schoolkids die in Brazil

Seventeen children and teenagers died in southern Brazil yesterday after their school bus slid off the road and plunged into a water treatment pool, rescuers said.

The school bus was heading to the city of Erechim in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul when it fell into the water, which is up to 10 metres deep.

Most of the passengers were children of farmers in the area and were aged between 12 and 16.

Twelve people, including the bus driver, survived the fall, said Luiz Fernando Puhl, head of the region's fire squad.