Dubai Telegraph - China snuffs out memorials to victims of deadly car rampage

EUR -
AED 3.8756
AFN 72.200575
ALL 98.139539
AMD 411.532283
ANG 1.916419
AOA 962.319203
ARS 1053.188708
AUD 1.630218
AWG 1.899315
AZN 1.784231
BAM 1.955003
BBD 2.146925
BDT 127.068214
BGN 1.956891
BHD 0.397718
BIF 3140.020304
BMD 1.055175
BND 1.421121
BOB 7.348005
BRL 6.129194
BSD 1.063362
BTN 89.676253
BWP 14.428257
BYN 3.479882
BYR 20681.429409
BZD 2.143327
CAD 1.478495
CDF 3023.076626
CHF 0.936043
CLF 0.037472
CLP 1033.976525
CNY 7.638303
CNH 7.648689
COP 4726.12869
CRC 542.978712
CUC 1.055175
CUP 27.962137
CVE 110.22008
CZK 25.288011
DJF 189.351934
DKK 7.458214
DOP 64.043899
DZD 141.622416
EGP 52.009895
ERN 15.827625
ETB 129.779309
FJD 2.40258
FKP 0.83167
GBP 0.831235
GEL 2.880458
GGP 0.83167
GHS 17.173001
GIP 0.83167
GMD 74.917819
GNF 9164.265159
GTQ 8.216651
GYD 222.469334
HKD 8.212268
HNL 26.846059
HRK 7.526869
HTG 139.81302
HUF 408.163026
IDR 16774.7496
ILS 3.959224
IMP 0.83167
INR 89.068533
IQD 1392.932319
IRR 44414.948032
ISK 147.313122
JEP 0.83167
JMD 168.341393
JOD 0.748221
JPY 164.500191
KES 136.329796
KGS 90.952195
KHR 4308.244201
KMF 492.080753
KPW 949.658078
KRW 1481.418127
KWD 0.324772
KYD 0.886139
KZT 524.106404
LAK 23352.482837
LBP 95221.093219
LKR 310.793338
LRD 200.438313
LSL 19.102015
LTL 3.115657
LVL 0.638265
LYD 5.151876
MAD 10.572991
MDL 19.161191
MGA 4961.977776
MKD 61.584316
MMK 3427.167142
MNT 3585.4848
MOP 8.519528
MRU 42.330748
MUR 50.047248
MVR 16.302766
MWK 1843.848551
MXN 21.712439
MYR 4.735102
MZN 67.423993
NAD 19.102015
NGN 1777.041223
NIO 39.134051
NOK 11.764987
NPR 143.481165
NZD 1.799094
OMR 0.406253
PAB 1.063367
PEN 4.030158
PGK 4.274258
PHP 62.064863
PKR 295.443194
PLN 4.34422
PYG 8298.578641
QAR 3.87682
RON 4.97705
RSD 116.980897
RUB 103.919035
RWF 1459.505187
SAR 3.964662
SBD 8.846117
SCR 14.382386
SDG 634.688134
SEK 11.596378
SGD 1.419896
SHP 0.83167
SLE 24.073878
SLL 22126.461188
SOS 607.652355
SRD 37.226828
STD 21839.991486
SVC 9.304208
SYP 2651.158922
SZL 19.108032
THB 36.972803
TJS 11.329783
TMT 3.703664
TND 3.346836
TOP 2.471323
TRY 36.237853
TTD 7.226055
TWD 34.365466
TZS 2801.489873
UAH 43.929697
UGX 3902.409597
USD 1.055175
UYU 44.831729
UZS 13603.455994
VES 47.479192
VND 26796.168359
VUV 125.272516
WST 2.950778
XAF 655.689778
XAG 0.035082
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.851663
XDR 0.801074
XOF 655.686672
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.580476
ZAR 19.275884
ZMK 9497.834156
ZMW 29.087146
ZWL 339.76591
  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

China snuffs out memorials to victims of deadly car rampage
China snuffs out memorials to victims of deadly car rampage / Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL - AFP

China snuffs out memorials to victims of deadly car rampage

Officials in southern China ramped up security on Wednesday at the site of one of the country's deadliest mass-casualty events in years, snuffing out makeshift memorials to the 35 people killed when a man drove a car into a crowd at a sports complex.

Text size:

On Monday, the 62-year-old man surnamed Fan ploughed a small SUV through a gate to the complex in the city of Zhuhai and into crowds of people as they exercised on the roads inside, according to police.

An initial police statement said people had been injured but did not mention any deaths, and videos of the attack later appeared to be removed by China's internet censors.

As of Wednesday, the rampage had left 35 people dead and 43 with injuries not deemed life-threatening, according to state media.

AFP saw residents and delivery drivers laying bouquets at a gate outside the complex on Wednesday morning, but within minutes the flowers were carried behind a cordon fence.

"What happened wasn't a small incident," a woman of about 50 told AFP, requesting anonymity to protect her privacy.

"We should remember those who passed away and not be so cold. I think more people in Zhuhai should come out here and lay some flowers in memorial," she added.

A hashtag related to the attack shot to number one on the popular Weibo social media site but had been removed by Wednesday afternoon.

Many comments appeared to have been removed or restricted, though some managed to slip through the cracks.

"Such vibrant lives, taken away like this, leaving families shattered. The perpetrator must be strictly punished," one user wrote.

- Divorce 'dissatisfaction' -

Police said Fan was apprehended at the scene but was in a coma after self-inflicted knife injuries, preventing them from interrogating him.

But the force said preliminary enquiries suggested the attack was "triggered by (Fan's) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce".

Security at the scene was tight on Wednesday, with plainclothes officers using their bodies and umbrellas to block AFP reporters from taking photos and videos.

Since Tuesday night, journalists had observed people placing candles and flowers near the site of the attack to commemorate the victims.

But cleaning staff removed the memorials in the early hours of Wednesday, with some telling AFP they were acting on an "order from the top".

Officials at the site said the items were being moved to a "mourning hall" inside the complex with no access to the public.

Footage of Monday's incident showed people lying motionless on the ground, while others were seen frantically attempting to resuscitate the seemingly unconscious.

Videos of the aftermath suggest the car roughly followed a busy exercise track on the western side of the sports centre, hurtling along the west side of the main stadium and the perimeter of another sports field in front of it.

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

The incident took place as Zhuhai hosts China's largest airshow, showcasing Beijing's civil and military aerospace sector.

- Spate of mass killings -

Violent crime is generally rare in China compared to many Western countries, but the Asian nation has witnessed a spate of deadly attacks in recent months.

In several cases, Beijing has described the killings as isolated incidents, or the motives of the perpetrators have not been publicly disclosed.

After the Zhuhai attack, Xi called on authorities to "strictly guard against the occurrence of extreme cases", Xinhua reported.

A man killed three people and wounded 15 in a knife attack at a supermarket in Shanghai in October, while in July, police said a vehicle crashed into pedestrians in the central city of Changsha, killing eight.

Monday's incident is on a par with some of China's deadliest attacks in recent memory.

The same year, a vehicle ramming and suicide bombing in the northwestern city of Urumqi killed 43 -- including four assailants -- and wounded more than 90. The incident was also deemed a terror attack.

A.Al-Mehrazi--DT