Man arrested after 19 people killed in remote village in China

Clifford Coonan in Beijing

A man has been arrested in connection with the killing of 19 people, including three children, in a remote village in Yunnan province in southwest China, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The 19 people came from six families in Yema village in the township of Daibu in Yunnan, Xinhua reported, and police learned of the case early on Thursday.

The suspect was arrested in the provincial capital Kunming, which is about 200km away, Xinhua reported. No motive was given.

Firearms are tightly controlled in China and mass killings are rare. Xinhua described the deaths as a killing spree, and if confirmed, this would be one of the biggest mass killings in China in years.

A report on the website ThePaper.cn said the bodies were found at different locations in the village, and the suspect had given police details of the incident.