Police in China said 35 people were killed and 43 others injured when a driver plowed his car into people exercising at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai.
The 62-year-old driver tried to escape, but was detained while trying to “injure himself” with a knife, according to the police report.
The incident, which occurred on Monday night, faces heavy censorship as the Zhuhai Air Show opened on Tuesday.
Police identified the man only by his last name, Fan, consistent with practice by Chinese authorities. The police statement said the vehicle struck “a number of” pedestrians on Monday night.
As reported by the AP, a man at the emergency clinic at Shang Chong Hospital in Zhuhai said they had received some people with minor injuries and most left after treatment. The Zhuhai People’s Hospital reported that they received the injured, but did not provide a detailed figure of the victims. Calls to Xiangzhou District People’s Hospital and Zhuhai Third People’s Hospital were not answered.
The versions of the event indicate that Fan went through the door of the sports center with an SUV and made his way inside, where he ran over a crowd before fleeing. Subsequently and before his arrest, the suspect inflicted several wounds on his neck, for which he was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
Videos showed a firefighter performing CPR on a person, while people were told to leave the scene.
As of Tuesday morning, searches for the incident on Chinese social media were heavily censored on Chinese social media platforms. A search on Weibo for the sports center only turned up a few posts, with only a couple referring to the fact that something had happened, with no pictures or details. Chinese media articles about Monday night’s incident were removed.
Internet censors in China take special care to clean up social media before and during major events, such as the National People’s Congress meeting, where the government announces its major policy initiatives for the coming year.
The Xiangzhou City District Sports Center regularly attracts hundreds of residents, where they can run on the track, play soccer and social dance. Following the incident, the center announced that it would remain closed until further notice.
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