The 17 blasts in Liuzhou occurred on Wednesday afternoon in at least 13 parts of Liucheng and its suburbs. (Photo : Reuters)
A man suspected of causing multiple explosions located in different parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region hired vendors to deliver parcel bombs, according to a police statement on Thursday.
The explosions the man set off happened on Wednesday afternoon. At least seven people were killed and 51 were injured in Dapu Township and the surrounding area. Two people in the area are still missing.
According to the Liuzhou police, the suspect named Wei Yinyong, a 33-year-old Liucheng native, hired street vendors to deliver the explosives in the form of express mail packages. The explosives detonated upon being opened.
Some of the bombs were placed in advance and remotely detonated. This includes the device that destroyed the dormitory of the Animal Husbandry Bureau in Liucheng that killed four people and injured several others.
Cai Tianlai, a senior officer at the Liucheng County Public Security Bureau, said on Thursday that officers discovered more than 60 suspicious packages after being tipped off by members of the public.
The packages were placed in an isolation area that allowed experts to disarm them and begin further investigations, Cai said.
Authorities in Liuzhou have implemented stricter supervision on delivery packages. The local branch of China Post has also postponed the delivery of all mail until Saturday.
Liuzhou Police used Sina Weibo, a microblogging website, to warn the public about strange parcels delivered via unofficial channels. They also announced that further investigation was underway.
According to a police circular, Wei lives in the Dapu Township and is a former employee of a quarry in Liucheng.
The 17 blasts occurred on Wednesday afternoon in at least 13 parts of Liucheng and its suburbs. This included a shopping mall, a prison, a government building, a hospital and a supermarket, according to the Public Security Bureau.
According to the bureau, the bombings occurred between 3:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on the day before China's National Day.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, the explosions are criminal acts. It also emphasized that it had ruled out terrorism as a motive and that it had sent a special team and criminal investigation experts to Guangxi to assist with the investigation.
