35 Dead and Dozens Injured in Car Ramming Incident in Southern China, According to Police
Authorities in China have reported that 35 individuals lost their lives and 43 others were injured after a vehicle drove into pedestrians in the southern city of Zhuhai yesterday evening.
The incident was initially reported yesterday; however, police at that time only confirmed injuries, and videos of the occurrence seemed to have been removed from social media platforms.
This morning, law enforcement disclosed that a “serious and vicious attack” took place at the Zhuhai Sports Centre, updating the death toll to 35.
The driver, a 62-year-old man with the surname Fan, allegedly drove “a small SUV through the entrance and forcibly entered the city’s sports facility, colliding with individuals who were exercising on the internal pathways,” the police conveyed in an official statement.
Initial investigations indicated that the driver had been “provoked by (his) discontent over the property division following his divorce,” according to police reports.
Following the incident, officers “restrained the driver on-site as he attempted to flee the scene.”
He is currently in a coma due to self-inflicted injuries to his neck and other parts of his body and is unable to be interrogated, police stated.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to care for the injured and has “demanded that the perpetrator be punished according to the law,” as reported by the official Xinhua news agency.
Graphic footage circulating on social media last night depicted the aftermath of the incident, although most had been removed by today.
Simultaneously, the largest airshow in China, highlighting Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sectors, is taking place in Zhuhai.
The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition is presently ongoing in Zhuhai.
On the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, users expressed their astonishment at the high number of fatalities.
“After work last night, when I viewed the news, there was no mention of this many casualties,” one user commented on a police statement. “Now, suddenly seeing this number tonight – so many families impacted.”
In a safety notice, Japan’s embassy in China urged its citizens to remain vigilant and to “avoid speaking loudly in Japanese and refrain from provocative or attention-seeking behavior such as loud group conversations.”
The embassy reported that they had no information regarding any Japanese citizens being injured in the attack.
China has experienced a rise in violent public incidents in recent months.
In October, a man killed three and injured 15 in a knife attack at a supermarket in the megacity of Shanghai.
In September, a Japanese schoolboy was fatally stabbed in Shenzhen, inciting outrage from Tokyo.
In July, police reported that a vehicle struck pedestrians in the central city of Changsha, resulting in eight fatalities.
