China floods: At least 21 killed, 15 injured as bus carrying students plunges into lake in Guizhou province

As severe flooding created havoc in various parts China and disrupted the first day of widely anticipated college entrance exams, at least 21 people were killed after a bus carrying students plunged into a lake in southwestern Guizhou province. 

College entrance exams are being held after a delay of one month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to local authorities in Guizhou, a bus carrying students to their annual college entrance exam plunged into a lake in the southwest province. 

The bus crashed into a guardrail and veered into Hongshan Lake, the local emergency management department said in a statement. They said 15 people have been injured in the accident. 

More than 10 million students were slated to take the exams nationwide on Tuesday. This is the country's largest collective event since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place in January after reports of coronavirus cases. 

Beijing registered no new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours for the first time since a new cluster linked to the city`s major wholesale food market was discovered on June 11. The new cluster prompted Beijing authorities to shut down the Xinfadi wholesale market and re-impose COVID-19 restrictions in mid-June after several dozen people linked to the market tested positive for the coronavirus.

In total, China registered eight coronavirus cases in six provinces on Tuesday, taking the overall tally to 83,565. The country also reported 78,528 recoveries and 4,634 deaths.