School bus plunges into river, leaving at least 7 dead in Northwestern Syria

At least seven people were killed and 20 injured, mostly children, when a school bus plunged into a river in northwestern Syria on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The accident happened near the town of Darkush, west of Idlib, when the bus skidded off the road and crashed into the Orontes River.

Casualties included students and teachers from a school for orphans, the source mentioned, adding that the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

This latest tragedy has further devastated the region, which has already suffered greatly from Syria’s ongoing civil war and last year’s devastating 7.8-magnitude  earthquake. The area is home to over 5 million internally displaced people who rely on aid to survive.