At least 35 people killed in a horrific car accident in China’s Zhuhai city International

A man drove his car into a crowd exercising in Zhuhai (southern China, 2.4 million inhabitants), killing at least 35 people, state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday afternoon, citing a police report. Gai and 43 people are admitted in the hospital. , Driver Fan, a 62-year-old man, was arrested on the spot. The injured are out of danger. Although it was known on Tuesday, the incident had occurred 24 hours earlier.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to “severely punish the culprits in accordance with the law,” and urged “all relevant sectors and departments to exercise caution and strengthen risk control,” Xinhua reported. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qian has also called on local governments to investigate “hidden risks and social conflicts.” according to the newspaper South China Morning Post

The culprit of the accident “is in a coma and the police cannot interrogate him.”

The incident occurred at 7:48 pm on Monday (10:48 am Spanish Peninsular Time), despite the fact that the city had strengthened security measures to host the military air show. Most of the videos posted by witnesses have been removed from Chinese social media, so it took almost a whole day for the news to emerge. Still images circulated show several people lying on the ground and receiving help from emergency services and other passers-by.

According to police officials, “the fan drove a van into the crowd at the entrance of the sports center and then tried to escape.” He added, “Officers found the fan attempting to self-harm with a knife inside the vehicle and he was immediately arrested and taken to hospital for treatment.” According to preliminary investigation, the man’s motivation was his dissatisfaction with the distribution of property after the divorce.

Chen, a witness cited by the Chinese magazine CaixinReports indicate that at least six groups of people had gathered at the sports center for their regular night walk, in which they tour the perimeter of the stadium. The group Chen was traveling with had just completed their third journey when a car approached them at high speed and “knocked down several people.” “They went round and round and injured people in all areas of the track: north, south, east and west,” he says. Caixin

The magazine reports that many of the injured were elderly people, but there were also teenagers and children.