35 Killed After Car Ploughs Into Crowds In The Chinese City of Zhuhai. Deadliest Attack In Decades

China has witnessed one of the deadliest in the country after 35 people were killed and 43 more were injured after a man used his car to go on a rampage at a sports centre in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday.

The actual casualty on site was much higher than what was initially reported, when police claimed that civilians were only injured from the incident.

Venting his personal frustration on innocent bypassers

The suspect is a 62-year-old man named Fan, who drove his small SUV through the gates and forced his way into the city's sports centre, ramming people who were exercising on the internal roads.

Preliminary investigations suggest that Fan's attack has been triggered by his dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce.

Footage taken by the AFP showed some victims lying motionless on the ground, while others were seen trying to resuscitate the unconscious.

Based on the account of an eye witness, who was only identified as Chen, the suspect was driving at high speed, charging and knocking down the many innocent civilians who were talking about their daily walk in the stadium.

Other eyewitnesses told local Chinese media that the car drove in a loop, and people were hurt in all areas of the running track - east, south, west and north.

Fan was apprehended by the local police on the spot despite his efforts to flee. During his arrest, Fan was attempting to cut himself with a knife.

Fan is currently in a coma after self-inflicted injuries to his neck and other parts of his body and is unable to undergo interrogation.

Local media outlets put in little effort to cover the incident

There were fewer than 20 people at the sports stadium the next day. Some were seen trying to film videos but were stopped by the local authorities. At the other entrance, candles flickered at a makeshift memorial where people were sending online flower deliveries.

Many residents expressed their shock that something like that could happen in their city. One resident said

"Zhuhai is supposed to be the safest city, nothing like this has ever happened here in the last decade."

Another resident lamented on how the media covered the incident, pointing out that in the past, local outlets would have pressed authorities for answers.

At around midnight, cleaners doused out the candles, and workers took away the flowers, saying they had been ordered to move them to a different location and that the public could view them tomorrow.

Following this incident, there has been videos on social media showing Zhuhai residents queuing up at blood donation centres and hospitals to support the injured victims of the incident.

Chinese Authorities tries to Censor incident?

Reports on Monday's attack were already being restricted online on Tuesday, with several videos taken by witnesses at the scene removed from chinese social media platforms.

In China, it is common for censors to quickly take down social media videos which are linked to high-profile incidence of crime.

BBC journalists reporting from the stadium in Zhuhai on Tuesday were also harassed and told to stop filming.

China has seen a splew of violent attacks in recent months that have been reported in local media to varying degrees. In October, a knife attack at a top school in Beijing injured five people.

One month later, a 10-year old Japanese student died after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.