By Kelly Ng, ZHUHAI China
At least 35 people were killed and 43 more injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of people exercising at a stadium in Zhuhai, China on Monday, according to authorities.
A 62-year-old male driver,
surnamed Fan, is alleged to have driven an SUV through a barrier and into
Zhuhai Sports Centre in what local police described as a "serious and
vicious attack". Chinese media reported that many elderly people, as well
as teenagers and children, were among the injured.
Fan was arrested while trying
to flee, police said, and is currently in a coma as a result of self-inflicted
wounds.
The incident took place
despite heightened security in the city, which is hosting a major civil and
military airshow.
Police have said initial
investigations suggest the ramming attack was triggered by Fan’s
dissatisfaction with the outcome of a property settlement following his
divorce.
However, due to his coma, he
is unable to be questioned by the authorities.
Most videos of the incident
posted by eyewitnesses had been scrubbed off Chinese social media by internet
censors by Tuesday morning, but some footage still circulating online showed
many people lying on the ground and being attended to by paramedics and
bystanders.
An eyewitness, Mr Chen, told
Chinese news magazine Caixin that at least six groups of people had gathered at
the stadium for their regular walks when the incident happened.
The groups use a designated
walking path that traces the stadium's perimeter.
Mr Chen said his group had
just completed its third lap around the stadium when a car suddenly charged
towards them at a high speed, "knocking down many people".
"It drove in a loop, and
people were hurt in all areas of the running track - east, south, west, and
north," another eyewitness told Caixin.
It is unclear whether the
incident was linked to the high-profile Airshow China, which started on Tuesday
at a venue just 40km (24 miles) away from the stadium. China is showcasing its
latest warplanes and attack drones at the show, and top Russian official Sergei
Shoigu is expected to attend.
Several entrances and exits to
the sports centre have been closed during the airshow to facilitate
"control", the centre's management said on Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
expressed his deep concern over the incident, instructing authorities to make
every effort to treat the injured and calling for the perpetrator to be
severely punished.
In response, the central
government dispatched a working group to help handle the incident.
Investigations into the case
are ongoing.
China has seen a spate of
violent attacks on members of the public in recent months.
In September, a man went
on a
stabbing spree at a supermarket in Shanghai, killing three people and
injuring several others.
In that same month, a
10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his
school in southern China.
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