An attack at a hospital in southwest China left more than 10 people dead or wounded in a 'vicious assault', according to state media.

'The incident occurred at a local hospital and as of 1:20 pm (0520 GMT)... more than 10 people have been wounded or killed,' state news agency Xinhua said.

The attack took place at Zhenxiong County People's Hospital in the southwestern Yunnan province and authorities are investigating, local media said.

An online post from Guizhou province television citing unnamed authorities said that two people had died and 23 people were injured. A suspect has been arrested, the Guizhou TV post said.

Images published by the state-run news site The Paper appeared to show a man pointing a knife at another man who had armed himself with a stick in a hospital lobby, as well as police officers arriving at the scene.

Images published by the state-run news site The Paper appeared to show a man pointing a knife at another man who has armed himself with a stick in a hospital lobby

Video showed people rushing to help the injured and others bleeding on the floor of the hospital

The attack took place at Zhenxiong County People's Hospital in the southwestern Yunnan province of China

'It happened around 11 in the morning... it's still a bit chaotic, they're still determining the numbers,' a local resident told The Paper. 

A witness told Red Star News, an online outlet, that he narrowly escaped the attack and that a doctor or doctors were among the injured. 

Video from the witness showed people who were bleeding and had fallen to the ground, and one older person trying to help another, according to Red Star.

Mass violent crime is rare in China, which strictly prohibits citizens from owning firearms, but there has been a spate of stabbings in recent years.

Pictures appear to show police apprehending the suspect in the street after the hospital attack

Last August in Yunnan, two people died and seven others were wounded after a man with a history of mental illness attacked people with a knife.

The month before that, six people were killed and one wounded in a kindergarten stabbing in southern China's Guangdong province.

And in August 2022, three people were killed and six wounded in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southeast China's Jiangxi province.

The tragedy comes just a few months after dozens of people were buried when a landslide struck in the same region, killing more than 30 people.