Driver arrested after many children hurt in car crash at school in China

A 39-year-old male driver of a vehicle that ploughed into pupils in Changde, a city in southern China, has been arrested, according to local police.

Multiple children were injured in the incident outside a primary school on the morning of Nov 19, the Global Times said in a tweet.

Those hurt in the incident have been taken to hospitals, and none of the injuries is life-threatening, the local police said, without providing details. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

China has witnessed a spate of deadly incidents in recent months - from mass stabbings to car rammings - in a rare development for a country with a proud reputation for public security.

The issue has prompted soul-searching about the state of society, with some despairing about why a rising number of individuals seem willing to "take revenge" on random civilians.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that "many schoolchildren were injured" in the Nov 19 incident, but said the "specific casualties" were still being investigated. State media did not say if the crash was deliberate.

Video circulating on Chinese social media that matched images of the school appeared to show the aftermath of the crash, with dozens of children running in panic away from the site of the crash.

One clip shows a compact, white sports utility vehicle stopped beyond the school entrance. At least five people, including a pupil with a backpack, were lying on the path taken by the vehicle on the narrow street in front of the school, the videos show.

Someone can be heard shouting, "Call the police" as a man is surrounded by a crowd and apparently beaten with sticks and rods.