Thirty-five people were killed and 43 injured on Tuesday when a car collided with people exercising at a sports centre in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, Chinese media reported.
A 62-year-old man was detained after the incident on Monday night, the eve of the People’s Liberation Army’s main aviation exhibition held annually in the city. Upon arrest, police officers saw the man self-injuring himself while sitting in his car.
After self-injuring himself, the man fell into a coma, so police officers are not yet able to question him. One of the possible reasons for the driver’s behaviour, police cite dissatisfaction with the result of the division of property after the divorce.
According to an eyewitness, at that moment several groups of people gathered in the area of the sports centre, who were taking a walk there. There are many elderly people, teenagers and children among the victims.
Chinese President Xi Jinping described the case of a car hitting pedestrians in Zhuhai as extremely grave and said that every effort should be made to rescue and treat the injured and take care of the victims and their families. Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese leader as saying:
The perpetrators will be severely punished in accordance with the law. All regions and relevant departments in China should learn lessons and strengthen prevention and supervision to prevent such incidents.
