Beijing, May 7 (EFE).- At least two people died and 21 were injured in a knife attack by a man at a hospital in southwest China’s Yunnan province on Tuesday.

Local authorities and media initially reported that the attack had left 10 people dead, a figure that they later said did not refer specifically to fatalities.

The incident took place at 1:20 pm, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which added that the authorities were investigating the attack.

A witness told state-owned newspaper The Paper that the situation was still chaotic.

Authorities are still counting the dead and injured, The Paper added.

According to unverified videos, the assailant has already been captured by security forces outside the hospital premises.

Hospital surveillance images released by the newspaper show a man in the hospital carrying at least two knives, with which he proceeded to attack multiple people, several of whom fell to the ground.

The attacker’s motive is still unknown.

A string of violent incidents in hospitals in China in 2016 led the authorities to deploy armed police in the medical centers to prevent attacks by patients or their relatives against health personnel.

In 2020, the Asian country enacted a health law that granted protection to health personnel and prohibited threatening or harming medical workers.

However, the scarcity of medical resources and the high cost of some treatments remain sources of conflicts.

Several stabbing incidents and attacks against crowds have also been recorded in China in recent years, which some Chinese media say are committed to take revenge on society. EFE

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