According to reports from the Vu Thu District Police Department, the boy Gia Huy was collected from his house at 6.20 am on May 29 and taken to Hong Nhung 2 Preschool with nine classmates and their teacher.

After a five-kilometre trip, the teacher took the children to their class, and the driver drove the 29-seat bus to the school's parking area and left.

At class, the teacher took a photo of the children to post on the school's website to check attendance. She noticed Gia Huy's absence but did not inform his family.

It was not until 5 pm the same day that the boy's uncle came to pick him up, and the teacher replied that Gia Huy had not appeared at school that day. The uncle rushed to the bus and asked people to help break the door open to find the boy lying unconscious inside.

The boy was taken to Thai Binh Provincial General Hospital, where doctors said that he was already dead.

At a meeting held on Wednesday evening, the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee Chairman, Nguyen Khac Than, asked for an urgent investigation into the case and to investigate the individuals responsible. He also asked for a thorough check of school bus operations in the area.

Hong Nhung 2 Preschool is a private school established in 2016. The school has two branches with some 400 students.

Wednesday was particularly hot, and the temperature in the Thai Binh Province was 36 degrees Celsius.

A six-year-old boy died in similar circumstances in Hanoi in 2019 after being left on a school bus. The driver, a carer and a teacher were given jail sentences in this case.