Guangdong leadership urges medical staff to save lives after vehicle tragedy

Wang Weizhong, governor of Guangdong province, urged medical staff to make every effort to save and rescue the people who were injured when a car plowed into a crowd at a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, on Monday night.

"To the seriously wounded, relevant departments should concentrate high-quality medical resources and spare no effort in treating them," said Wang.

Multidisciplinary expert consultations and remote consultations would also be organized to help save lives, he said, adding that as long as there is even a glimmer of hope, medical staff cannot give up (the rescue work), he said.

Wang made the remarks when he visited the wounded at Zhuhai People's Hospital on Wednesday.

Regarding minor injuries, medical staff should closely monitor the development of the patients' conditions, strengthen targeted treatment, find ways to stabilize the conditions, use careful treatment and nursing to help the injured recover their health as soon as possible and minimize disability caused by injury to reduce the impact on everyday life after rehabilitation, according to Wang.

Meanwhile, a special task force headed by Zhang Hu, executive vice-governor of Guangdong province, was established on Wednesday to handle the aftermath, including the launch of an investigation and providing comfort to the victims' families.

More than 300 medical staff members from five hospitals in Zhuhai worked to treat the wounded, according to a statement released by the city government on Wednesday.

At a meeting about the incident on Tuesday, the Zhuhai government called the crash "extremely heinous in nature, with dire consequences, and the lessons drawn from it are extremely profound", the statement said.

The tragedy took place at 7:48 pm on Monday when a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan drove a small SUV through a barrier at a sports center in Zhuhai's Xiangzhou district, ramming people who were exercising on the road inside the venue, the city's public security bureau said in a statement on Tuesday.

A preliminary investigation found that Fan was triggered by dissatisfaction with the split of financial assets in his divorce, the police said, adding that Fan had been detained.