27 dead and 19 injured after gang of knife-wielding men attack train station in China

Dan Bloom
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 12:26 UTC

Horror: Photos shared on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo showed bodies strewn across the floor covered in blood. Initial reports suggest 27 people have been killed and another 109 were injured

* WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Distressing photos show bodies and blood

* Attack took place at the Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province

* Death toll would make attack the deadliest in recent Chinese history

* Local TV station K6 said several of the attackers were shot by police

At least 27 people have been killed and 109 injured after a group of knife-wielding men attacked a major city train station in south-western China.

Distressing photos circulating online showed bodies, pools of blood and abandoned luggage scattered across the terminal floor at Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province.

State TV has described the incident tonight as a 'violent terror attack'.

Carnage: The attack was described as a 'violent terror attack' by state television

Body: One of the reported attackers who was shot dead by police in the standoff in south west China

Unconfirmed reports said five attackers were gunned down by police after a standoff.

The death toll would make the attack one of the deadliest in recent Chinese history.

The country's state-run Xinhua News Agency, which revealed the attack, did not provide more details. The attackers were not identified.

Kunming city police did not have immediate information to release.

Local TV station K6 said several of the attackers were shot by police and that victims were being transported to local hospitals.

The men were wearing uniforms when they stormed the railway station and gunshots were heard after police responded, another state news organisation said.

Lockdown: Police investigate after the attack at Kunming railway station

Tragedy: Reports said there were several knifemen who were shot at in the station by police

Domestic security chief Meng Jianzhu was travelling tonight to the scene in downtown Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province which has more than six million citizens.

Why the attackers struck or whether they were a member of a dissident group was not immediately known.

However, China has seen a number of mass stabbings and other attacks carried out by people bearing grudges against society.

In June last year at least 27 people were killed after gangs armed with knives attacked a police station and a local government building in a remote region of western China.

Mobs in the Xinjiang region, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority, were said to have set upon buildings in the township of Lukqun at around 6am, stabbing people and setting fire to police cars.

Standing guard: Police have been trying to establish why the gang of men burst into the station