BEIJING: Several students were injured on Tuesday (Nov 19) after a car crashed outside a primary school in central China’s Hunan province, state media said.
“Many schoolchildren were injured, the specific casualties are being investigated,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
State media did not say if the crash was deliberate.
A 39-year-old male driver involved in the incident was arrested, according to local police.
The injured individuals have been taken to hospitals, and none of the injuries are life-threatening, they added. Investigations are currently ongoing.
The crash took place outside Yong’an primary school in the central city of Changde, home to more than 5 million people.
Footage circulating on Chinese social media – which matched online images of the school – appeared to show the aftermath of the incident, with dozens of children running in panic away from the site of the crash.
In one clip, several people, including a young child, can be seen lying on the ground.
Another showed a bloodied man being beaten with sticks by passersby as he lay on the ground next to an SUV.
An eyewitness told local media that the incident happened at around 7.50am.
About eight to nine people were injured and they included both students and their parents, said the eyewitness, adding that all the victims have been taken to hospital.