Three people were killed and 34 others, many of them children attending the first day of school, injured when a man set fire to explosive materials inside a minibus in central China on Wednesday, state media said.
The man, 47-year-old Li Shiguo from Hunan province’s Wangcheng county, committed suicide after carrying out the attack, the Xinhua news agency said.
Li hurled explosives into the bus after it had filled with people, including 20 children who were on their way to the first day of school for the fall semester, Xinhua said, citing the driver, who was slightly injured.
Eyewitnesses said Li had told his nephew, who was also aboard the bus, to get off before igniting the vehicle at about 6.30am local time.
Those killed were a primary school pupil aged seven, a 16-year-old student and a 71-year-old local resident, according to Xinhua.
Thirty-four passengers suffered burns of varying degrees.
Close to 40 people were believed to be on board the bus at the time, Xinhua said.
Authorities believe Li was acting out of revenge against villagers who had reported his illegal logging activities to police last year, causing him to be jailed for 12 months.
Li had not been employed since his release from jail in May and was always at odds with other villagers due to his bad temper, local residents said.
It was unclear how Li killed himself but Xinhua said he committed suicide while fleeing the scene of the explosion. — Sapa-AFP