Beijing: Four visiting instructors from a US college have been injured in a stabbing attack in a park in north-eastern China, the university confirmed on Tuesday.
Cornell College, which is located in the US state of Iowa, confirmed upon request by DPA that four of its instructors, who are in China as part of a partnership with a Chinese university, were injured “in a serious incident during a daytime visit” to a public park in the north-eastern city of Jilin.
“We have been in contact with all four instructors and are assisting them during this time,” College President Jonathan Brand said.
“There were no students taking part in this program,” he added.
According to media reports, the four instructors were stabbed in the city’s Beishan Park last weekend.
The circumstances of the attack, as well as the victims’ condition, remained initially unclear.
The US State Department had been informed and was “monitoring the situation,” a spokesman said upon request.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry was initially unavailable for comment, as were police in Jilin.
Photos said to show the victims lying on the ground covered in blood briefly appeared on Chinese social media platforms.
On Weibo, China’s version of X, posts relating to the incident appeared to be deleted soon after they were published.
As of Tuesday morning, Chinese state media had not reported on the incident.
According to Cornell College, the four lecturers were teaching as part of a partnership with a Chinese university near Jilin. At the time of the attack, a faculty member from the partner university had also been present.
–IANS/DPA