Thirty-five people were killed when a man drove a car into a crowd outside a stadium in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night, local police said.

Another 43 people were wounded in the incident on the eve of an international air show in the city, although none were in a life-threatening condition.

The incident occurred at 7.48pm on Monday when a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan drove an SUV into an area on the outskirts of a sports centre where vehicles were not allowed and hit a crowd of people exercising, police said.

The attacker was stopped and taken to hospital after trying to kill himself, Zhuhai police said. He was in a coma, receiving treatment and “unable to be questioned by police”.

But authorities said a preliminary investigation indicated that Fan was motivated by dissatisfaction with the division of property in his divorce case.

President Xi Jinping ordered local governments on Tuesday night to “strictly prevent extreme cases”.

Calling the incident “extremely vicious”, Xi urged local authorities to do their utmost to save the wounded and “severely punish the criminal”.

Xi also urged local governments to “strengthen the prevention and control of risks and promptly resolve conflicts and disputes”, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Premier Li Qiang said local governments should investigate “hidden risks and social conflicts”, Xinhua added.

Source: South China Morning Post