A 3-year-old girl in Yingde, Guangdong province, died of suffocation on Wednesday after being left alone on a school bus for several hours, according to local police.

The girl, surnamed Zhong, had been attending an international art kindergarten in the county-level city for just 10 days.

Zhong was rushed to the hospital after being found lying alone on a mini bus by the driver on Wednesday at 3:40 pm, about eight hours after she was sent to the bus bound for the kindergarten, police said.

The driver and a teacher who accompanied students on the bus have been detained for further investigation.