ZHUHAI: A man killed 35 people and injured 43 more when he ploughed his car into people exercising around a sports centre in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday, local police said on Tuesday.

The toll was a dramatic increase from the initial incident report the day before, when police only said that people had been injured, with videos apparently scrubbed from social media.

A 62-year-old man surnamed Fan drove his small SUV through the gate and “forced his way into the city’s sports centre, ramming people who were exercising on the internal roads”, police said.

Preliminary investigations suggested Fan’s attack had been “triggered by (his) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce”, their statement said.

Footage from Monday night geolocated showed people lying motionless on the ground, while others were seen frantically attempting to resuscitate the unconscious.

Attacker found in his car cutting himself with a knife, and is currently in coma after self-inflicted injuries

An eyewitness surnamed Chen told Chinese news magazine Caixin it was common for groups to take daily walks on the dedicated track around the stadium.

He had just completed his third lap on Monday when a car suddenly sped at them and knocked down “many people”, but he was able to jump aside. Another eyewitness surnamed Liu said that the car “drove in a loop”.

“People were hurt in all areas of the running track — east, south, west, and north,” he said. Fan was “controlled on the spot” as he attempted to drive away, police said.

He was found in his car cutting himself with a knife, and is currently in a coma after self-inflicted injuries to his neck and other parts of his body, unable to undergo interrogation, they added.

The 43 people wounded are not currently in life-threatening condition, police said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and has “demanded punishing the perpetrator in accordance with the law”, according to state news agency Xinhua.

China’s largest airshow showcasing Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sector is being held in Zhuhai at the moment.

One delivery driver said he had already brought 10 orders there that night.

Security was also high in front of the emergency room of a nearby hospital, where a huge group of doctors and nurses were milling about.

After the announcement of the death toll, the news shot to the top of the trending topics on Chinese social media, with tens of millions of views.

The graphic videos that circulated on social media on Monday night showing the aftermath of the incident had mostly disappeared though. On Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, users expressed their shock at the sudden rise in fatalities.

“Last night after work, when I watched the news, there weren’t this many people reported,” one user commented on a photo of the police statement released.

“Tonight, suddenly seeing this number — so many families affected.”

Videos on the social media platform showed Zhuhai residents queuing up at blood donation centres and hospitals.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024