35 persons are killed and 43 injured as motorist drives right into a crowd in China

Police in China say 35 people were killed and another 43 injured when a driver rammed his car into a crowd in China. 

Video footage posted to social media showed dozens of people lying still on the ground outside the running track at Zhuhai sports centre in the Guangdong province, near Macau in southeastern China, on Monday. 

Many of those injured were wearing clothing designed for exercise, and were attended to by other members of the public. 

Witnesses told local media that the injured were made up of ‘a group of middle-aged and elderly people who were exercising on the track’, which was later surrounded by investigating cops. 

Video footage posted to social media showed dozens of people lying still on the ground outside the running track at Zhuhai sports centre in Guangdong province

The cause of the incident has still not been established

Witnesses told local media that the injured were made up of ‘a group of middle-aged and elderly people who were exercising on the track’

Many of those injured were wearing clothing built for exercise, and were attended to by other members of the public

Many of those injured were wearing clothing designed for exercise, and were attended to by other members of the public

‘A passenger car hit a number of pedestrians at the sports centre in Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai City and drove away,’ the police said in a statement. 

The cause of the incident has still not been established.  

Police have since arrested a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan in connection with the incident at the sports centre, which was built in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics and has since been used by local groups. 

It was not immediately clear whether it was an attack or an accident. No motive was mentioned, and police said investigations continued. 

The sports centre said online that it had suspended sporting activities, adding that a ‘reopening time is to be determined.’ 

Deadly traffic accidents occur frequently in China, due to lax safety standards and widespread disorderly driving.

Six people died after a car lost control and slammed into bikes and other vehicles on a bridge in central China’s Hunan province in September.

That same month, a school bus ploughed into a crowd of people outside a middle school in eastern China, killing 11 parents and students.

And in July, police said a vehicle crashed into pedestrians in the central city of Changsha, killing eight people and injuring five.