Outpouring of blood donations in China’s Zhuhai as residents rally to help car ramming victims

SINGAPORE: In an outpouring of support, residents of China’s Zhuhai have banded together to donate blood, supporting the victims of a car ramming that left 35 dead and 43 injured. 

The Monday (Nov 11) night incident in the southern Chinese city saw a man driving his car into people exercising around Zhuhai Sports Centre. News of the suspected hit-and-run and the casualty count was not widely reported until nearly 24 hours later.

According to local police, the wounded are not in life-threatening condition.

Long queues formed at hospitals and blood banks in the early hours of Tuesday morning as residents rushed to donate blood, local media reported. Some ride-hailing drivers gave free rides to residents who were donating blood, according to Chinese news site 163.com.

The donation drive has continued into Wednesday. Some donors have documented their experience online.

A male donor remarked that the incident had “happened near his home”. “I’ve lived in Zhuhai for 30 years and this is the first time I’ve witnessed something like this.”

Calls for more people to join the cause have also been circulating online.

“Currently, Zhuhai city’s blood banks are in need of blood. We call on all residents and friends to actively respond, please participate and help to spread the word!” reads a post on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

The post shared the address of a blood bank, as well as the physical requirements for prospective donors.

People slightly further afield have also tried to chip in. A Macao resident said he drove down to a blood bank in Zhuhai in the early hours of Tuesday after seeing news of the incident. But on arrival, he was told that blood supplies were “enough”. 

“A staff at the (blood) bank told me that there were currently more than 100 people in the queue and that their blood supplies were sufficient,” he shared on Xiaohongshu.

More than 300 healthcare personnel from five hospitals in Zhuhai are providing treatment to the victims, while the National Health Commission has dispatched 11 specialists to aid in the efforts, local media reported.

SHOCK AND HORROR 

The suspect has been identified as a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan. He drove his small SUV through the gate of the sports centre and rammed people exercising on the internal roads, local police said on Tuesday.

Footage from Monday night geolocated by AFP showed people lying motionless on the ground, while others were seen frantically attempting to resuscitate the unconscious.

The incident has been met with shock and horror across the country, with many people expressing disbelief at the high death toll.

“The hairs on my body stood on end when I saw the number!” stated a comment under CCTV’s Weibo post of the incident. 

“This is terrifying,” another user wrote.

Fan was "controlled on the spot" as he attempted to drive away, local police said on Tuesday. They added that he was in a coma after self-inflicted injuries to his neck and other parts of his body and was unable to be questioned.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged "all-out efforts" to treat the injured and has "demanded punishing the perpetrator in accordance with the law", according to state news agency Xinhua.

Initial investigations indicate the attack was triggered by the suspect's dissatisfaction with his divorce settlement. Many users pondered how and why this could prompt someone to take such extreme action.

“It doesn’t matter if he was a gambler, or what opinions he had of his ex-wife, but to ram his car into a crowd of innocent citizens, (he’s) an animal,” one Weibo user wrote.