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Three people die after car crashes in China's Tiananmen Square | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Chinese state media say three people have died after a vehicle crashed in Tiananmen Square in the capital, Beijing. | |
Several others, including tourists, were also reported injured in the incident, Xinhua news agency said. | |
The square was evacuated after the vehicle "went into the crowd in front of the Tiananmen rostrum" at midday, the agency said. | |
Images posted online showed a vehicle in flames, amid barricades. | |
The sports utility vehicle crashed into a stone bridge near and entrance to the Forbidden City, state media said. | |
The three people who died were the driver of the vehicle and two passengers, Xinhua said. | |
There has been no explanation so far about the cause of the crash. | |
Tiananmen Square was the scene of pro-democracy protests in 1989. | |
It is generally kept under tight security both because of its proximity to key political institutions and so that is does not serve as a hub for protesters and petitioners. | |
But there are periodic incidents nonetheless. In 2011, a man set himself on fire at Tiananmen Square following what officials said was a legal dispute, close to the square's portrait of Chairman Mao. |