At least 28 people have been killed and 113 injured after a group of knife-wielding men hacked their way through innocent people at one of China's busiest railway stations. Distressing photos circulating online showed bodies, pools of blood and abandoned luggage scattered across the terminal floor at Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province.
Authorities described the incident at about 9.20pm local time (1.20pm GMT) as an 'organised, premeditated, violent terrorist attack' in which at least 10 people stabbed commuters outside the station terminal before moving inside.
Police shot dead five of the unidentified attackers and were searching for around five others, according to state media. Several suspects were contained by police and the station and surrounding roads were cordoned off. Medics were still treating people and taking them to hospital hours after the attack, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, which provided the number of people killed and injured.
An earlier toll of 162 injuries which was reported by state media has been reduced to 113. If confirmed the death toll would make the attack one of the deadliest in recent Chinese history. A woman staying at a hotel near the station told the South China Morning Post she was terrified to leave. 'Our guests who walked passed the train station told us not to leave the hotel because the situation is dangerous,' she said.
'We dare not leave the hotel right now. There are many police outside. We just fear that not all the attackers have been caught.' Why the attackers struck or whether they were a member of a dissident group was not immediately known.
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