Two children killed in German school bus crash

Two children, both eight years old, were killed and five more seriously injured when a school bus slipped off an icy road into a ditch in central Germany on Thursday, officials said.

Local police said the bus had been carrying 22 children to their primary school when the accident happened near the town of Berka in the state of Thuringia.

It is believed the bus slipped on the ice because of a dip in the road, before toppling over an embankment and into a ditch.

Officials said the other 15 children on the bus were treated for light injuries and received psychological assistance.

Contrary to initial reports, the driver was not injured but did suffer from shock.

In a statement on Twitter, Thuringian state president Bodo Ramelow said he was "dismayed" by the news.

Thuringia's interior minister Georg Maier said that there would be a "detailed investigation" of the incident, but added that "today was not the day for speculation".