Schools across southeastern Bangladesh were closed Tuesday as people mourned 42 schoolchildren killed this week in a tragic bus accident.

The country will hold its official day of mourning Wednesday, with the education ministry asking students, teachers and officials to say a special prayer and wear black badges as a symbol of their loss.

The government has pledged $267 to each of the families of the deceased as compensation.

The children, aged between 8 and 12, were returning from a football match Monday when the accident occurred outside the southeastern city of Chittagong. Two adults accompanying the group were also killed and several students were injured.

Police are searching for the driver of the bus, who fled the scene after the crash.