5 dead, 13 injured after car ploughs into pedestrians in Guangzhou

A car ploughed into a group of pedestrians in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday, killing at least five people and injuring 13.

The incident, the cause of which was not yet known, took place at 5.25 pm near the junction of Tianhe Road and Tiyudong Road.

A witness surnamed Liu said he saw a black BMW car rush to the junction near the Zhengjia Plaza, and the driver didn't stop but escaped after knocking down pedestrians.

Chinese media published images showing victims lying on the ground, as well as the suspect appearing to throw handfuls of banknotes in the air before being arrested.

"The driver... was taken in for questioning by police and the accident is currently the subject of a thorough investigation," the head of Guangzhou police said on the Chinese social network Weibo.

The suspect is a 22-year-old man surnamed Wen from another city in the same province of Guangdong.