Nine children were killed and ten injured on Saturday after a speeding van rammed into a public middle school in eastern India.

An official from the police stated the students were leaving from school when the accident happened in Muzzafarpur, in Bihar state.

"The incident happened when the school had just finished and the students had gathered outside the school building," the official said.

“All the injured, said to be around 20 in number, have been rushed to the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital for treatment. The condition of some of them was stated to be critical,” he carried on.

Police have arrested the driver believed to have lost control over the van. They are investigating the incident and based on an eye witness the driver had hit an old lady and was speeding in order to escape justice, according to the Times of India.