At least six persons were injured when a false alarm of a knife attack triggered a panic rush among passengers on a subway train in southern China today.
The panick-stricken passengers rushed out of the train at Meihuayuan Station on Line 3 of Guangzhou city's subway on hearing the rumour.
Six passengers suffered bruises in the chaos.
A subway worker was reporting the situation to the train driver using his walkie-talkie when one passenger shouted, "he was slashed by someone with a knife," and another said, "there's a bomb on the train," state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
However, nothing suspicious was found on the train. A preliminary investigation showed a passenger had fallen ill and fainted on the floor of the train.
Doctors, who attend to the injured passengers and the person who fainted, said the injuries were not serious.
Similar cases have occurred in other cities, the report said, and in most cases rumours were to blame.
On Thursday, a fight between passengers caused chaos and sent large crowds scurrying at Guomao Station, a busy transfer station in Beijing's Chaoyang District.
Experts have called for emergency response education in China in the wake of the panic among public because of the recurring knife attacks.
Several people have been killed and many more injured in recent months in knife attacks carried out by militants from the restive Xinjiang region.
China has announced a series of security measures after the attacks.
