Australia schoolgirl left in locked bus for hours
- Published
Alyssa Jade was found crying and banging on the doors of the school bus
Australian authorities are investigating how a five-year-old girl was left locked on board a school bus for more than four hours.
Alyssa Jade, five, was reported missing when she failed to return from her first day of school in Queensland.
She was found about 19:00 local time on Monday (09:00 GMT) at a bus depot after a cleaner heard her "banging on the door", police said.
They said she was in good health despite the scare.
Bobbie Langdon wrote on Facebook that her daughter had been "petrified" during the ordeal in Logan City, 45km (27 miles) south of Brisbane.
Police said the girl had fallen asleep in the back of the bus and had failed to draw the attention of the driver who drove to the depot thinking he had no remaining passengers.
"She wasn't in clear view of the driver or other passengers," Detective Inspector Mark White told the BBC.
He warned people to be mindful of young children at the start of a new school year.
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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the incident was a "wake up call" for bus companies running school routes.
"If they finish for the day [the drivers] should go and double check that there is no-one in those seats," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
A spokesman for the bus company, Logan Coaches, said they were investigating the incident.