Two eight-year-old boys were killed and another three children badly hurt after a car crashed into a classroom in Sydney on Tuesday, Australian police said.
A sports utility vehicle smashed through the wooden wall of the school in Sydney’s west, where 24 primary-age children were in class with their teacher, police said in a statement.
Five children were rushed to hospital, including the two deceased boys. Three girls, two aged eight and another aged nine, were in a serious or stable condition in hospital. Another 16 children and their teacher were treated for minor injuries.
Local TV images showed the car punched through the wall and stopped completely inside the classroom, which is adorned with children’s drawings and pictures.
“Obviously it was a scene of carnage,” New South Wales state Ambulance Superintendent Stephanie Radnidge told reporters outside the school.
New South Wales Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said police were “not looking at this as an intentional act, it is a crash investigation.”
Police said the driver was a 52-year-old woman who was not hurt but was taken to hospital for blood and urine tests as part of the crash investigation.