Tractor rampage attack in China kills 11 Published duration 2 August 2010

image caption The rampage killed 11 and left at least 20 injured, officials said

A drunken man on a tractor has killed 11 people and injured many in a rampage in northern China, the local government has revealed.

Driver Li Xianliang, 38, was arrested after running amok for an hour around a coal depot in Hebei province on Sunday.

The driver ploughed into pedestrians, cars and shops as he drove away from the depot before coming to a stop in a field where he was arrested.

The incident began with an argument between Mr Li and a customer.

Mr Li killed the man at the Hongyuan coal depot and then set off down the street on a powerful tractor with a shovel on the front, officials said in a statement.

Death penalty

Eight people were killed outright as he drove down the road from the depot tearing shop fronts apart and crashing into cars and buses.

Local media reported that he drove the tractor onto the highway where he smashed into cars and lorries and then turned off into a crowded market.

Three more people died later in hospital and at least 20 were injured, the officials said.

Mr Li could face the death penalty if convicted of murder, reports said.

China has suffered a number of rampage attacks in recent years.

There have been two knife attacks on children in nurseries and primary schools this year.

Officials have in the past limited the information available to the media in an attempt to prevent copy-cat attacks.